


you can’t stop the flood

by junmyeoneyesmile



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, EXO vs X-EXO, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff (maybe if you squint), Obsession AU, Romance, Side baekhyun/chanyeol, Slow Burn, X-EXO, implied chanyeøl/wendy, one sided taeyeon/baekhyun, past irene/sehůn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:35:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24531652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junmyeoneyesmile/pseuds/junmyeoneyesmile
Summary: en•e•my/ˈenəmē/nouna person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.irene never thought one day she would live in the enemy’s side. but when a mission goes wrong and everything turns upside down, she wonders for what she was really fighting for.(or, the one in which x-exo’s scientist irene falls in love with exo’s leader, junmyeon.)
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kim Junmyeon | Suho
Comments: 27
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (this is crossposted from my tumblr, since I finally took some time to make my account here - with some small changes that were bothering me) 
> 
> I only have one thing to say: there's no such thing as too much obsession au's in this fandom. 
> 
> [ok, maybe I have two things to say] I think everybody will be familiar with exo and x-exo’s visuals, but for the sake of your imagination I should say Irene and Wendy both have bad boy era’s look. for now, I guess that’s it. enjoy!

_The explosions were so loud that her ears hurt._

_“Joohyun!”_

_The voices calling her name were getting more distant, even when she tried to concentrate on them. The cloud of dust in the air was making it hard for her to see anything._

_“Joohyun!”_

_“Mom, dad! Where are you?”_

_She ran, trying to find her way, but her legs caught on a loose leg of a table, and she fell. The rocks on the floor scratched her skin, and the dust collecting in her eyes and nose made her tear up._

_“Joohyun!”_

_This time, the voice sounded closer, and she sobbed, feeling all the strength leave her body._

_“Mom!”_

_The familiar figure approached her, wrapping her arms around Joohyun - the smell and warmth so intimate to her. Joohyun cried harder, and soft hands brushed the hair from her face._

_“It’s ok, darling. It will be ok. But you have to leave here now.”_

_“Where’s dad?”_

_The woman’s expression faltered for a second, and she knew – she knew – that something was wrong._

_“He’s over there. I’ll help him, but you need to leave here now, Joohyun.”_

_“Mom…”_

_“Go.”_

_The girl shook her head, tears staining her cheeks._

_“I can’t go without you.”_

_The woman held her shoulders, serious._

_“Listen to me, Joohyun. You are capable. You’re so much more capable than you imagine. So you just have to keep going. Keep going, no matter what happens.”_

_Joohyun sobbed, and the woman held her tightly._

_“We love you, my darling.” she said, before helping her to get up, cleaning the dust from her arms. “Now go. Go, Joohyun.”_

_So she ran. She kept running, even when she was outside of the house. Even when her legs burned with the effort. Even when she heard the explosion that destroyed everything that was behind her._

—————————–

“Irene. Hey, wake up.” 

Irene opened her eyes at once, but the room was so bright she had to blink several times until she got used to it.

“What time is it?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“It’s past 2AM.”

She frowned, sitting on the bed.

“Did something happen?”

Wendy nodded, already in her white dress uniform, tying her hair back in a low ponytail.

“We need to go to the lab.”

If she was going to be honest, Irene didn’t know why she asked that. It was pretty common for them to wake up in the middle of the night because of stuff like this.

Sighing, Irene got up. She dressed her uniform and tied her hair back, before leaving with Wendy to the halls.

“Did someone come to tell you that?”

“Of course not. You know they always come to you.” Wendy said, like it was something obvious. “But I went to drink water, and Suhø found me in the hall. So he just told me, because he knew it would be faster.”

“Was there anyone with him?”

“No. But Sehůn and Kāi are already in the lab.”

Again, Irene sighed. _Of course._

When they got to the lab, there was the sound of enthusiastic conversation. Sehůn and Kāi were discussing something, sitting on stretchers next to each other, while Suhø was looking at his reflex in the window.

“Oh, look who’s here.” Kāi said, seeing them enter the room. He had a cut on the side of his stomach, exposed by his cropped top. “I’m sorry, did we interrupt your beauty sleep again?”

Irene ignored him, looking at Suhø.

“What happened?”

“These brats can’t keep themselves on the line, that’s what happened.”

“Hey” Kāi interrupted. “You were there, too.”

“To save your ass, apparently.”

Kāi gave a sadistic half smile.

“Everything would’ve went fine if Chën made a better use of all those cameras and drones then watching porn.” Sehůn said, and Irene looked at him. His pants were torn on the thigh, and blood was dripping and staining the white fabric of the stretcher.

A voice echoed in the lab's speakers.

“Don’t blame me for your mistakes, Sehůnie. I told you they were coming, but both of you were too focused on yourselves to pay attention.”

Sehůn rolled his eyes, and Irene turned to Suhø again.

“You seem fine.” She stated, looking at him. He didn’t seem to have any serious injuries besides some blood stains and scratches on his face.

“Yes, I’m fine.” He said. “I only stayed here to make sure those idiots wouldn’t do anything stupid for the rest of the night. I can trust you with that now, right?”

Irene didn’t respond, but it wasn’t like Suhø needed an answer anyway.

“But I do want some of the serum for scars you made.” The man continued, but she was already expecting that.

Irene nodded, going to her table to get a bottle.

“All you care about is your face, right?” Kāi provoked, but Suhø ignored him, taking the bottle Irene brought. “Don’t come with us again if all you’re going to do is watch!” he continued, while the leader of the group left the room.

Wendy and Irene looked at each other before moving to get what they needed to work. When Irene finished, she turned, only to see Wendy already in Kāi’s stretcher – which left her with no other choice than going to Sehůn’s.

She got closer to him, starting by cutting the fabric that was already torn in his thigh with a scissor, so she could have more space to work. As she did it, the weight of his stare didn't went unnoticed.

“Why do you keep doing this?” Irene asked, not looking away from what she was doing.

Sehůn raised the corner of his lips.

“That’s our job, isn’t it?”

“Your job is to go on official missions, planned ones. Not to leave in the middle of the night when you feel like it.”

“But it’s so much fun, to terrorize everyone when they're not expecting.”

Irene stared at him.

“Everything would’ve gone fine, if Baekhyun didn’t come to us. He was too fast for me,” Sehůn raised his voice. “but I have no excuses for Kāi.”

“ _I was-_ ” He hissed when Wendy applied something on his cut. “My beautiful original was distracting me.”

Irene shook her head. She already had applied one of the serums to stop the blood, and was cleaning the cut to suture it.

“Chën is right, you know.” she told him. “You guys are easily distracted, and that’s why they’re always a step ahead.”

“You know that’s not true in a one on one combat.”

“Yes. But I don’t think you’ll have that opportunity, Sehůn.”

He stayed in silence, and Irene was grateful for that. She was too tired to have that discussion now.

Wendy finished first, since Kāi’s cut wasn’t too deep. The boy left as soon as it was done, and the girl walked away to clean and store what she was using before.

Irene took her time and finished a little later, applying a serum that she had formulated to accelerate the process of healing - even though she knew Sehůn and Kāi would still have those scars. It was well known that cuts from Baekhyun’s sword always left marks. Until now, she still hadn’t been able to make a formula that would erase Sehůn’s eye scar.

“It’s done.” she told him. “You'll probably feel some pain through the night, but by tomorrow morning it’s going to be completely gone.” Irene got up to leave, but Sehůn held her wrist.

She turned, looking at him.

“I want to talk to you, Irene.”

She kept her expression neutral.

“Then do.”

Sehůn caressed her skin with his thumb, and Irene looked at her hand.

“Not here.” he continued, his voice a tone lower.

Irene knew the last thing Sehůn was going to do was talk, if they left that lab.

Slowly, she took her hand away.

“I have to fill these forms, Sehůn.” she said, already getting away from him. “Come here in the morning to have that wound checked.”

Irene didn’t look at him again, getting a file that had _CASE 94_ in the cover. Seconds later, she and Wendy heard the door slam with a wind that definitely didn’t come from the window.

Irene closed her eyes for a second, before continuing to look at the files.

“Why do you do this to him?” Wendy asked, breaking the silence. “It’s obvious he’s still into you.”

“He’s not _into me_. And we’re not supposed to get involved with the subjects anyways.”

“Ah, come on.” Wendy leaned against her table, crossing her arms. “You two are way past the _getting involved_ phase already.”

Irene took a pen, starting to fill the forms from that night.

“Sehůn has very specific goals to his life. He was created to that. And I have to concentrate on my work for that to happen correctly.”

Irene wouldn’t lie that it was nice, to relive some of her stress with Sehůn once in a while. They both didn’t really care about anything, and none of them put strings on each other. They practically grew up together, and she cared about him, but while Irene was getting older, she started to see more clearly that there was a very fine line in all of this they couldn’t trespass – in the end, she was a scientist, and he was the subject. So she decided it was time to stop.

Wendy rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. But you’re always so serious. Come on, _Joohyu-_ ”

Irene turned fast to the other girl.

“Don’t call me like that.”

Wendy seemed a little sad.

“Alright. It was just a reflex from the old times.”

Irene watched her friend go back to look at her files, and did the same – used to ignore the pain that name always made her feel.

xx

In the end, Irene couldn’t go back to sleep. After she and Wendy left the lab, it was past 4AM, and the sky was starting to get bright – but not enough for the lights to be turned off. So, after some tossing and turning in the bed without success, Irene decided to go to the rooftop.

This building was the biggest in the compound, being the accommodation to the subjects, scientists and the headquarters of the Red Force: the Exo’rdium. The sun was almost rising, but Irene could still see the lights of all the modern buildings alight. It really was a big contrast with the destruction the rest of the city was.

But it was nice, seeing that. It reminded her of where she was.

————————

“I heard some of the boys went to the lab, last night.”

Irene looked at Kang Seulgi, who was sitting in front of her in the cafeteria. She nodded, drinking a sip of her water.

“Yes. They decided to go on a surprise mission last night.”

“And why no one said anything about it?”

“Because it was Kāi and Sehůn. Besides, Suhø went with them.”

Seulgi ate a bite of her sandwich, thoughtful. 

“Even though, going out only on three doesn’t seem like a good idea. Don’t you think the Red Force minds it?”

“Red Force doesn’t care about anything as long as they don’t die.” Irene said. “They’re fine.”

At that moment, they heard a loud conversation and turned to look. At the X-EXO table, everybody was eating breakfast, except for Chanyeøl. Baëkhyun was teasing Chën about something, and the boy electrocuted his fork, making him get a shock.

“You know,” Irene continued. “I’m thinking about talking with Chën, later. It would be better if they took some doctors in missions with them, to be at watch in case someone gets hurt seriously.”

“With the help of his cameras?”

Irene nodded.

“Yeah. He can see everything, so he can pass important information.”

Seulgi agreed, and they finished eating their breakfast before leaving together to the labs. Seulgi worked at the research and developing area, and had promised to help Irene develop a serum she had in mind. But all the research papers were at Irene’s lab, so they had to go there first.

When they entered the place, Irene could see that Wendy was already there – but didn’t expect to find Chanyeøl, too.

They were just talking, but Wendy was leaning against her desk, and Chanyeøl was pretty close to her, one hand resting on the surface. He wasn’t wearing his blazer, and had one sleeve of his shirt rolled up.

It was Wendy that saw them first.

“Irene!” she said, and Chanyeøl turned his head to look. He didn’t seem to have the intention to move away, so Wendy did it. “I thought you were going to work with Seulgi, today.”

“I am. But I came to get my research.”

“Ah. Alright.” she hesitated. “Chanyeøl came here to have his blood tested.”

Irene looked at them.

“Yes.” Chanyeøl said. “So now that this is done, I’ll get going.” He got his blazer on the table. “I’ll see you later, Wendy.”

The girl blinked, but didn’t respond.

After he left, the room was silent, and Irene went to her table, looking for the papers.

Seulgi crossed her arms.

“Until when are you going to flirt with Chanyeøl?”

Wendy blushed.

“I wasn’t flirting with him!”

“Yeah, right.”

“Be careful.” Irene told her, closing a drawer. “Chanyeøl is the most likely to lose control of his powers.”

Wendy looked at her.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked defensively. “You’re capable of dealing with one of them, but I’m not?”

“So you _want_ to deal with him?” Seulgi accused, and Wendy opened her mouth like she wanted to answer that, but didn’t say anything.

“I didn’t say that.” Irene finally answered. “I’m just telling you to be careful. Let’s go, Seulgi.”

And both of them left, leaving the girl alone in the room.

————————-

Later that day, Irene went to the monitoring floor, where Chën spends most of his days. His room was on the last floor of the building, and it was cold – with an almost metallic smell in the air.

Irene would’ve thought it uncomfortable if she didn’t spend most of her days in a lab, which was also cold, and had a variety of smells.

Chën was sitting at his table, playing chess alone. His perfectly ironed red suit almost blended with the color of the walls.

“You can come in, Irene.” he said, even though she still hadn’t made any sound to announce her arrival. “You know I already saw you coming.”

Of course he had. Irene always wondered how Chën could keep up with all those cameras – there should be at least 100 just in the wall in front of him. But then, he had the highest IQ of all the boys. Perhaps all the energy accumulated in his body would make his mind act faster.

“I want to speak with you.”

“Of course.” he said, and moved a piece. “Why don’t you sit down and play a round with me?”

Irene got closer and sat facing him on the table. There were a few pieces out of place, which probably meant that he hadn’t started playing in a long time.

“I’m not very good at chess.”

Chën shook his head lightly.

“That’s not true. I’ve seen you playing.”

Irene looked at the arrangement of the pieces on the board, feeling Chën’s eyes watching her.

“Did you really warn the boys about EXO coming to them, last night?” she asked, moving a piece.

“Of course. My drone saw them when they were still on their way. But it was fun, seeing Kāi being fooled by his original.”

“Maybe you could’ve been a little more incisive.”

Chën pushed one of her pieces outside the board.

“And why? If the idiots don’t listen to what I say, I’m not going to keep repeating myself. This is Suhø’s job.”

Irene analyzed the game.

“If one of you falls, you’ll be in disadvantage against them.” she commented. “It’s already hard the way it is.”

Chën stopped, looking at her.

“Why are you here, Irene? Surely it’s not to give me a lecture.”

Irene looked at him, who was still staring at her – and the way his only blue eye seemed brighter was a bit unnerving.

“I want your help.” she told him. “I want to go on the next missions, to be there in case one of you gets hurt seriously. But I can’t keep up with everyone, and I need you to do it for me.”

Chën lifted the corner of his lips, making the chain attached to his lip piercing move.

“You want me to babysit them at battle?”

“You’re here for one reason, right?” she said, before moving one more piece. “Check Mate.”

Chën looked at the game.

“Congratulations.” he said, calm. “You won.”

Irene could feel the double meaning in the sentence.

“Thank you.” she answered, before getting up. “But we both knew that this side was already fated to win when I got here.”

And Chën too, could feel the double meaning in her words.

———————-

_“Why do you keep doing these things, Sehůn?” the teenager asked, exasperated. “Why do you keep doing those stupid things?”_

_The boy sitting on the stretcher wasn’t looking at her._

_“Because I needed to.”_

_“Needed to what? What do you want to prove?”_

_“That I’m better than him!” Sehůn snapped. “That I can beat him!”_

_Irene stopped, looking at him with a frown, worried and sad._

_“I wasn’t expecting Baekhyun to show up and disrupt the fight. He’s so fucking fast with that sword… But I was going to beat him, Irene. I was going to shred Sehun in pieces.”_

_That was the first time Irene realized the real purpose behind X-EXO. The first time she saw the unimaginable anger they carried inside. The first time she understood what Red Force was trying to do._

_Irene didn’t say anything, getting closer to Sehůn. He stayed in the lab all day – she wasn’t allowed to frequent the place or perform procedures, because she was still a student. But in the end, they allowed her to visit him._

_Sehůn didn’t move while she reached for the bandage on his right eye, did not move when she removed it._

_Irene tried to not express a reaction when she saw the angry red scar cutting his eye, a huge contrast to his light blue iris._

_“I’ll try to develop a serum to that.” she said, but Sehůn shook his head._

_“They already told me, this is never going away. Marks from Baekhyun’s sword stay forever.”_

_Irene frowned._

_“But I’ll still try.”_

_Sehůn continued to look at her for a long time, until he got off the stretcher where he was sitting. Irene stepped back, but he held her waist to stop her from moving away._

_And when he leaned down to kiss her, she let him._

———————-

The next morning, Irene was organizing her things in the lab when Suhø arrived to his monthly checkup. That surprised her a bit, because she didn’t realize the time went by so fast. But it did make sense, since Chanyeøl had been there the day before.

While Irene took what she needed, Suhø sat on the stretcher, taking of his red blazer but keeping the vest – even though it didn’t make that much of a difference. She went closer to him, holding a syringe.

“Have you felt any different, this month?” Irene asked, gesturing for Suhø to extend his arm.

“No. I’m perfectly fine.” he said, watching as she put the needle of the syringe in his vein, taking the blood. He didn’t even flinch.

“I spoke to Chën, yesterday.” she told him, taking the needle and storing the blood in a different recipient. “Which in reality, brings me to you.”

Suhø raised a brow, and Irene kept going.

“I want to be a part of the next missions. I know scientists aren’t supposed to leave the Exo’rdium, but you guys may need urgent treatments when in battle. It would be wise to have someone that can help there.”

Suhø seemed slightly surprised.

“It’s much harder out there than you think.” he said. “I won’t have time to be checking on you or anyone else.”

“You won’t have to. That’s why I talked to Chën. He will accompany all of you, and tell me where I need to go in case something happens.”

Suhø didn’t seem much excited about it, but was also not opposed to the idea.

“It’s your choice.” he said, indifferent, starting to dress his blazer.

Irene labeled the blood vessel with a _01_ and stored it.

“Then it’s already decided.” 

————————–

Surprisingly, things happened sooner than Irene was expecting.

It was the start of the afternoon when Chën’s voice echoed on the speakers of the Exo’rdium.

_“Dear friends, I’m seeing some interesting images close to our borders.”_

Chën wasn’t one to make jokes, so it was obvious that everybody would take his words seriously, and meet him in the monitoring room.

Irene knew that even though she told him, Suhø wouldn’t make an effort to tell her, so she rushed to Chën‘s room, where everybody was already reunited.

“Our EXO friends apparently are patrolling 200m from our border.” Chën was telling them. “They seem to be looking for something.”

Sehůn saw her coming into the room and gave her a glance, but Irene looked straight ahead, paying attention to the images on the cameras. She saw the originals Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Looking for what?” Baëkhyun asked.

“And does it matter? Let’s just go there and catch those two!” Kāi said, with an almost crazy smile.

“They’re idiots, walking just in two, close to our territory.” Chanyeøl said. “Let me and Baëkhyun go there and finish them.”

“No.” Suhø said, firm. “You can’t control yourself, and Baekhyun plays too much. We’re all going, except for Chën.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss this amount of fun.” Kāi said.

While Suhø and Chën talked and looked at the cameras, Sehůn got up and walked to Irene.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m going too.”

Sehůn laughed.

“And do what? Research in the middle of the battlefield?”

Irene ignored him, walking to the door.

“Wait” Sehůn got to her, holding her arm. “You can’t be serious.”

“You need doctors on the battlefield.” She said, indifferently. “I’ll trust Chën.”

“I also trusted Chën, but shit still happened to me.” Sehůn said, and then stopped. “Irene…”

“I’ll meet you at the garage.” she said and left, not waiting for another word from him.

———————–

Irene hadn’t left the Exo’rdium a lot of times. She had some flimsy idea of what to expect from the world out there, but despite that, she didn’t feel nervous. She had learned how to deal with the anxiety and the fear a long time ago.

She knew that with all the boys going, only one doctor wouldn’t be enough, so even reluctantly, she asked Wendy to go. The girl was nervous, but accepted anyway.

Even though the boys always wore the same clothes when going out, the white dress they usually wore wouldn’t be ideal, so Irene changed to black pants and a red shirt. Wendy chose the same, but her shirt was white – and after getting ready, they went to the garage. 

Kāi and Baëkhyun weren’t there, which was actually logical. The first could teleport, and the second could move at the speed of light, so really, there was no necessity of using a car.

To the rest, a pickup truck was ready to go, and Suhø was at the driver’s seat with Sehůn at his side, while Chanyeøl got in the backseat. Wendy entered the car first, sitting next to him, and Irene sat by the window.

“Here.” Chanyeøl said, giving them earpieces. “You may need this.”

Irene put it on her ear, watching the road while Suhø accelerated, and Chën’s voice became clear on the earpiece.

_“Baëkhyun and Kāi are already close to them.”_

“Keep yourselves quiet while we get there.” Suhø warned.

 _“But I want to play…”_ Baëkhyun whined.

“Quiet.” Suhø warned again.

“You know he’s not going to keep quiet if Baekhyun gets closer, right?” Chanyeøl said

Suhø sighed, checking his hair in the rearview.

“Yeah, I know.”

As predicted, things were already heated up when they got close enough.

Suhø stopped the car abruptly, and the three men got off, running to where the fight was happening. In the earpiece, Chën was telling locations.

“Are we going to stay in the car?” Wendy asked, clearly scared.

Irene looked at where an explosion happened, not far away from them.

“No.” she said. “It’s not safe, let’s go.”

They got out of the car, running to the ruins of one of the nearest buildings, and sat behind a wall that was still standing. More explosions resonated, and they sounded closer each time.

Irene hated to feel vulnerable in a situation like that, but she knew that in this moment, the best they could do was stay there. Carefully, she looked behind the wall, to see what was going on.

Not too far away from there, Suhø was in direct confrontation with Chanyeol. Fire and water met, making a smoke of steam rise into the sky – which was suddenly lighted up with lightning.

 _“They are here.”_ Chën said in the earpiece. _“All of them arrived, they’re here.”_

 _“I can fucking see that, you idiot!”_ Chanyeøl screamed “C _an someone come and hel-”_

At that exact moment, Chanyeøl was thrown in the trucks direction, falling on top of the roof. Irene covered Wendy’s mouth to stop her from screaming, while they watched the scene. The original Kāi suddenly was on top of Chanyeøl, trying to punch him in the face – but the boy dodged it, and held the other forearms with hands on fire.

The original screamed, staggering backwards, but before Chanyeøl could throw himself at him, he disappeared.

“Nice way to continue a fight, coward.” Chanyeøl said, before falling to his knees on the floor, coughing up blood.

Wendy got up and ran to him, before Irene could stop her. The girl kneeled at his side and touched his arm, but his jacket was so hot she screamed, releasing it.

“Sorry.” Chanyeøl said, and coughed again. “I think the bastard broke some of my ribs.”

“Can you get up?” Irene asked him

Chanyeøl didn’t answer, but started to get up, and faltered to the side. Wendy – _that didn’t seem to remember she was burned seconds before_ – let him lean on her. She didn’t make any further reaction, so Irene imagined Chanyeøl had controlled his fire.

The three of them walked to the place they were before, and Chanyeøl fell on the floor, leaning onto the wall. Irene took off his blazer, and Wendy lifted his shirt until his chest. Slowly, she touched his ribs, and Chanyeøl screamed.

“They’re definitely broken. I can only do the basic here, but we need to come back.” Wendy said, extremely worried.

From the speed his chest was swelling, Irene knew that this was serious. She touched her earpiece.

“Kāi. Kāi, are you listening?” There was no response. “Kāi, you need to come back now!”

 _“I’m a little-”_ the voice stopped for a second. _“I’m a little bit busy here!”_

“Chanyeøl needs to go back to the base, this is serious!”

There was no response again, and Irene was alarmed – until she heard Suhø’s voice.

_“Kāi, go back now!”_

A little bit more relieved, Irene turned to Wendy and Chanyeøl, where the doctor was already starting first aid.

“Kāi’s going to come. We just need to wa-”

 _“Sehůn is hurt in one of the buildings at section C.”_ Irene heard Chën’s voice, and pressed her earpiece immediately.

“Chën, can you see me?”

A few seconds later, a drone flew over where they were.

_“Yes.”_

“Where is he?”

_“A hundred meters ahead of you, in a building on the right. He is lying on the ground, apparently burned.”_

Irene looked at Wendy.

“I’m going there. Wait for Kāi here.”

“Wait, Irene! You can’t go on your own, it’s dangero-”

But she didn’t wait for the other girl to finish the sentence.

Irene ran, not really knowing how far a hundred meters was, but she soon saw that Chën’s drone was following her a few steps ahead, guiding the way. When it stopped in front of the building, she knew it was the one.

Over there, the explosions were a lot louder and seemed closer. Fights were still going on close to where she was, but Irene got into the building anyway, searching for Sehůn.

It didn’t take long for her to find him, lying on the floor behind an old wall.

The entire front of his blazer was torn. From his chest to his shoulders, the skin was completely burned, extremely red, raw. Sehůn was breathing hard, with difficulty.

Irene took off the backpack she was carrying, kneeling in front of him. Only at that moment, Sehůn noticed her presence.

“I… Irene…”

“I still don't know how you manage to get in the worst situations.” she said, getting a bottle from inside her backpack.

“It was him…” Sehun said, breathless. “ _Shit._ He spread the fire that Chanyeol made…”

Irene didn’t answer, opening the bottle and without hesitation, pouring the liquid over his chest and shoulders. The scream Sehůn gave echoed throughout the building.

“This serum will help.” she explained. “It’s specific to burns done by Chanyeøl.”

Sehůn didn’t say anything, apparently too out of his mind to form a coherent sentence. The serum would help, but like Chanyeøl, Sehůn needed to get back to the base.

“Baëkhyun” Irene pressed her earpiece. “Baëkhyun, yo-”

“Calling for me?” the silver haired boy appeared next to her. “I was close.” he explained.

“You need to take Sehůn back.”

Baëkhyun looked at the other laying on the floor.

“Everybody already left. Suhø went to the car with your friend, Kāi is hurt and he took Chanyeøl, so he’s not coming back. I can only take one of you if you want me to run fast.”

Irene shook her head, trying not to think too much.

“Just take him. I’ll wait here until someone can come and get me.”

Baëkhyun gave her a look, but did not hesitate, and after taking Sehůn in his arms with some effort, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

Irene sat where Sehůn was before, hiding. There was no more sign or noise of fighting, and she wondered if EXO was gone too. That territory was on the border, it didn’t belong to anyone. Maybe she was safe until someone from the Red Force came to pick her up.

But she didn’t have that luck.

The only alarm Irene had before everything happened was a tingle at the back of her neck, and the same metallic smell that she smelled in Chën’s office.

She heard the thunder, and then a lightning cleared the place, at the same time it hit the building, blasting everything around. Irene was thrown to the side, and her ears were clogged from the noise, causing her to hear nothing for some time.

She was so stunned for a while, unable to see anything because of the thick layer of dust, that she barely noticed the feeling of numbness in her leg. Only when she looked down did Irene see the huge piece of wall that was on top of it.

It was hard to breath. She wanted to scream – _but to who?_ Her earpiece wasn’t in her ear anymore, and she couldn’t contact anyone. Desperation was beginning to form inside her, when Irene heard voices. Two people, talking.

_“-ure I saw a trail of light here. It must have been Baëkhyun.”_

Irene remained completely still. That voice was extremely similar to Chën’s…

 _“Jongdae hyung, there’s nobody here.”_ that voice was also familiar, but Irene’s head was starting to spin. _“You already destroyed this place, there is nobody here.”_

_“I wanted to find that coward. But he is always hiding behind his cameras…”_

_“Yeah, you won’t find him. Now let’s go, my arms are aching from the burn that Chanyeøl gave me.”_

The other man hesitated a little.

_“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”_

Irene heard steps, and then, she was alone again.

It was unbelievable that the two of them hadn’t found her - but then again, she was behind a huge amount of wreckage. It was most likely that no one would ever find her.

The thought brought the desperation back to her, and Irene looked at the rock on her leg again. Maybe she could move it… In a moment of madness, she decided to move her leg.

And everything went dark.

—————————

When Irene opened her eyes again, the light in the place was dim. She blinked several times, feeling disconnected. She had passed out from the pain… How long had it been?

At the same time that her conscience was returning, the pain returned with it. It seemed to burn her skin, and she started to shake, feeling sick. Doing her best not to move her lower body, Irene looked down.

And she didn’t see the rock on top of her leg.

That made no sense. Maybe she was imagining things, in the state her mind was in. She rested her head on the floor again, trying to breathe steadily. But the pain was increasing, and her vision was beginning to blur.

“I can’t pass out again…” she murmured to herself.

There was some rustling on the floor, and a shadow blocked the faint light that reached Irene. She turned her face, looking to the side.

_Red._

All she could see, it was all red. _A familiar red._

Irene breathed heavily, almost tearing up. They had found her. They came, and they had found her.

“Suhø…?”

The man was silent for long seconds.

“No, I’m sorry.”

At first, she didn’t quite understand what he meant. But then Irene forced herself to look through the pain, to keep her mind at least minimally focused.

Then she noticed it.

The completely black clothes. The unstyled red hair, almost hiding his eyes. The posture.

No, that wasn’t Suhø.

Yes, she had been found.

But not by Red Force. _She had been found by EXO._

Irene wondered why she had to suffer so much, if she was going to die anyway. A voice echoed in her mind.

_‘You just have to keep going. Keep going, no matter what happens.’_

She closed her eyes, but some tears still escaped.

_‘I’m sorry, mom.’_

“Do it.” she said, ready. “Kill me.”

There was no answer for a long time, and Irene thought that maybe she was already in enough pain to feel anything else. But when she looked to the side again, the man was still standing where he was.

“Do it.” she repeated.

The man didn’t respond immediately.

“I’m not going to kill you.”

Irene gasped.

“What do you want, torture me for information? I don’t think it can get worse than this. Just kill me!”

Once again, he remained silent, and the anger mixed with the pain was making Irene’s head spin.

“No, I won’t do any of this.”

“Then you’re a fool.” she said, suddenly feeling too weak. “They’ll come back for me.”

The man observed her.

“It’s been hours since the fight. No one showed up at these perimeters. I only came back because I had lost something in this region, and I found you.”

_No one showed up at these perimeters._

Irene couldn’t believe that. Baëkhyun knew she was there. And what about Chën’s drones?

_Did they really leave her there?_

The man walked towards her, and instinctively because she was startled, Irene moved.

It seemed like she blinked, but she must have passed out from the pain again, because when she opened her eyes, the red-haired man was kneeling beside her.

“Listen, your leg is broken. There are also some ugly wounds and cuts, and if they remain this dirty, they will become infected. I will clean them.”

Irene blinked, looking at him.

“Why…” she asked, weak, and he looked at her “Why are you helping me?”

The expression on his face was determined.

“Because I can’t leave someone to die like this.” he answered, and then turned his attention to her leg.

Irene watched, without the strength to fight, as the man carefully tore her pants, exposing her leg. Then, he turned his palm upward and summoned water.

Irene had seen Suhø do it several times - in tests, in combat. She had seen the strength with which he could throw it and she had seen him drown people with it.

But she had never seen him control it like this. Softly, lightly. Like it was a part of him, not something that had been given him as a weapon.

The man directed the water to her leg, and Irene could barely feel it on top of all that pain and numbness, but his touch was so soft, that she immediately felt calmer.

When he stopped, he looked at her. _He had such warm brown eyes…_ She was used to blue. Cold blue ones.

“I can’t move you like this. You’ll pass out with the pain, again.” The man moved, getting something from the pocket of his vest. Irene saw a pill in his hand. “This will help you sleep for a few hours. It’s the only way.”

Irene looked at the pill, and then to him again.

_The only way?_

She was in pain. She was tired of being in pain.

No one would come after her.

Even if this man was lying… What was the point in fighting, now?

So above all her judgments, she nodded.

The man put a hand on the back of her head, helping her to stand up a little, and put the pill in her mouth. After that, with the other hand cupped, he summoned some water and brought it to her lips, which she drank, swallowing the pill.

“This will take effect in a few seconds.” he warned her, calmly.

Irene could already feel her body lighter. _Was it that fast?_

She blinked slowly, watching the face of the man in front of her - so familiar, yet so unknown.

“Who are you?” she saw herself asking, not sure if he could understand her.

He looked at her, a soft expression on his face.

“I’m Junmyeon.” he said, his voice distant.

And when the darkness came to her this time, Irene didn’t fall on it, she embraced it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick note for this chapter, something I would like to explain. you’ll notice that exo members (and people at the elyxion) uses honorifics when talking – that’s because they’re always acting with their hearts, and well, they consider everyone as family. people at the exo’rdium and x-exo don’t feel the need to that, because everything is very logical and done with only work in their minds, so.
> 
> also, I used two poems in this part and I wanted to give the credit because they’re not mine. the [“lavender poem”](https://weheartit.com/entry/308707893?context_page=3&context_set=147704687-quotes&context_type=collection) is by emery allen, and [“always”](https://weheartit.com/entry/340439945?context_page=2&context_set=147704687-quotes&context_type=collection) is by lang leav.
> 
> that’s it for now, enjoy!

_It was hard for her, getting used to the bright fluorescent lights, the white walls and the clean smell that all the rooms had. She was used to dark places and old stuff._

_“Why do you think they called us here?” Seungwan asked, sitting next to her._

_Joohyun was also not used to the talkative girl that had arrived the same day as her. Even though Joohyun remained isolated, making the other girls not want to get close, Seungwan insisted on being next to her._

_Joohyun didn’t answer, and at that moment an older woman entered the room. She was one of the doctors, Joohyun remembered. A red hat hid her eyes._

_“You were all gathered here because you passed our initial exams. Now, you’ll be able to start your training and be a future help for the Exo’rdium.” the woman said, looking at a file she was holding. “All of you will undergo tests that will determine your area of aptitude. Now, you’re part of the Exo’rdium and will start over with new identities.”_

_Future help._

_Start over._

_Joohyun didn’t think or care much about the future. She didn’t have anyone or anything. But those people were saying she could start over. That she had a future._

_The woman got close to her._

_“Bae Joohyun?” she asked, and when Joohyun looked at her, she gave her an identity. “Here. Your tests will be performed in room 3 of sector B. Welcome to Exo’rdium.”_

_Joohyun took the identity, staring at it._

_“Hey, what’s yours?” she heard Seungwan ask. “Mine’s Wendy. Kind of cool, right?”_

_Joohyun put her card on top of the table, and looked at the girl next to her._

_“I’m Irene.”_

_And after that, she never looked back again._

_———————-_

_“…ever should’ve brought her here.”_

_“Don’t be like this, Channie. Junmyeon hyung said she was going to die if he left her there.”_

For a second, Irene thought she was still dreaming. But the voices were too clear, and her body was starting to realize that her consciousness was coming back.

“Still. This can be a trap to us, Baek. Don’t you think it’s weird?”

Irene opened her eyes, even though it was hard. Her lids were heavy, begging her to just close her eyes again and go back to sleep, but Irene fought the feeling, blinking a few times.

“Hey, she’s waking up.”

The lights in the room weren’t bright, which made it easier for her to adjust. From there, things gradually came into focus.

There was an IV in her arm and her right leg was immobilized with a splint. Her dirty clothes were gone, changed into some clean, fresh ones, and she was in a room with old walls – with two men looking at her from a distance.

Irene tried to move, sit on the bed.

“Oh, don’t mind us.” the silver haired one said, and she stopped. “I’m Baekhyun. But you probably know this already.”

It was weird, seeing the original Baekhyun this close. Irene never thought she would’ve had the opportunity.

They looked exactly the same, but the feeling she got from this one was different – a lot more soft, kind. Baëkhyun could pretend he was soft, but there was always a wicked feeling behind him.

By Baekhyun’s side, the original Chanyeol was serious. His pink hair was hidden under his beret, and it looked like he was ready to attack her if Irene made the wrong move. She could’ve easily mistaken him for Chanyeøl, if it wasn’t for the dark eyes.

“Where am I?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

Baekhyun tilted his head.

“In the Elyxion, of course.”

_The Elyxion._

Irene blinked, not really believing what she had heard.

She was in enemy territory.

“I finally found you two.” a different voice came from the door. “What are you guys doing here…”

The red haired man walked into the room, noticing that Irene was awake.

“She woke up, hyung.” Baekhyun said.

They continued to stare at each other. Irene’s mind was still a mess, and she didn’t remember much of what had happened while she was in pain, but his face was a clear image.

_“Because I can’t leave someone to die like this.”_

“Hyung, shouldn’t we take her to the investigation room?” Chanyeol asked. “She has to answer some questions…”

“It’s ok, Chanyeol.” Junmyeon interrupted. “I’ll talk to her.”

“But hyung…”

“Jongdae is looking for you two. Go there and talk to him.”

Chanyeol looked like he was ready to protest, but Baekhyun held his arm, and the two left the room. Junmyeon watched them leave, before turning to Irene again.

She sat on the bed with some difficulty.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

Irene ignored the question.

“You brought me to the Elyxion?”

Junmyeon didn’t answer immediately.

“There was no other place for me to take you.”

“Yes, there was! You could’ve left me at the border!”

“The situation is unstable for both sides. Jongdae’s clone has drones all over the perimeter, and I was alone. Do you think they would've responded well to this scene?”

Irene didn’t answer. Of course not, if Chën saw him alone with her, they would’ve been there in a matter of seconds.

Even though, it still didn’t make sense that this man had taken an enemy to their base. Wasn’t he their leader, too? They most likely wanted to keep her there for some kind of purpose. Maybe they knew she was a scientist at the Exo’rdium.

“When are you going to interrogate me?” she asked, feeling like she could get this over with quickly.

Junmyeon frowned lightly.

“I don’t think you fell under a wall on purpose.”

_What was that supposed to mean?_

“You can’t be sure of that.” She said, trying to intimidate him. But it was obvious she was acting up too much.

Junmyeon gave her a knowing look.

“Get some rest. You clearly need it.”

Irene was taken aback by that, and he didn’t wait for her to answer, leaving the room. Shocked, she continued to look at the door for a long time after he left.

———————-

It was unnerving to stay in that room with no idea what was going to happen, but in the end, Irene was used to waiting. She was a patient person.

In the middle of the day, a teenage girl came into the room, bringing her a tray of food. Irene wasn’t sure if she should trust the food in this place, but she was hungry, and really, she had no other option. Unlike the food at the Exo’rdium - which was always well thought out about all nutrients and functionality - here, it seemed so much simpler: rice, soup and meat.

The taste of homemade food started to bring some past memories to her, and Irene didn’t eat everything.

Late in the afternoon, a doctor came to see her. She was blonde, wore round glasses and looked young, probably just a year older than Irene. The badge on her lab coat read _“Kim Taeyeon”_.

“Hello.” she said, looking at the clipboard she held. “How are you feeling?”

There were various answers to that question.

“Fine.” Irene said, in the end.

“Does your leg hurt?”

She shook her head.

“Alright. Then I’m going to take out this IV for now, it had some painkillers. If the pain comes back, you can tell me and I’ll bring you something.”

The blonde got closer, and Irene held out her arm so she could remove the IV.

“How long will I have to stay with this splint?” she asked, already thinking it to be uncomfortable.

“The situation was quite serious when Junmyeon brought you here.” explained Taeyeon. “I did my best, but… Well, our technology is not as advanced as yours.”

_Yours._

Of course. They thought of her as a member of the X-EXO team, too.

“I believe you’ll need to be with it for at least a few days.” Taeyeon continued.

Irene sighed, knowing she would say that.

“I can’t be here…” she said, mostly to herself.

If Taeyeon heard that, she chose not to comment on it.

“There are some crutches here, in case you want to walk.” she told Irene. “But it’s better if you don’t force this leg, or it could get worse.”

Irene nodded, watching the doctor leave the room - and not really understanding how all of this could be happening to her.

———————-

The next day, nothing different happened.

Irene stayed on the bed, mostly because she couldn’t do anything besides sleeping and thinking about the situation she was.

Nobody went to the room, except for the girls that brought her meals and Taeyeon, that came to see how she was. Irene asked herself what was their purpose, taking care of her like this.

Was she a hostage? She wondered what they would do if she left the room. The door wasn’t locked, and apparently no one was keeping watch. That thought remained in her mind, but Irene quickly pushed it away. She couldn’t go very far in that state, and adding to that, she knew that the less she forced her leg, the faster she could recover.

So, she tried to bear with the boredom of those hours.

At some point in the night, after she had eaten dinner, it started to rain. Irene listened to the sound of raindrops on the window for a while, until she decided to get up to look.

She’d already gotten used to the crutches, having used them to go to the bathroom a few times, so it wasn’t difficult to walk to the window. The view didn’t say much about where she was - just the deserted landscape that was common in the city. She leaned against the wall, watching as the rain increased.

There was a knock on the door, and Irene turned to look.

Junmyeon was standing at the entrance, holding something.

“It gets pretty cold when it rains at night,” he started to explain. “so I brought this blanket.”

Irene said nothing, and he entered the room, leaving the blanket on the bed. He looked at her, and seemed almost hesitant - which was extremely unusual for her, who was used to Suhø’s confident posture.

“How are you?” he finally asked.

She still didn’t understand why he cared about that.

“I’m fine.” she paused, and looked at the bed. In truth, it had started to get cold. “Thank you for the blanket.”

Junmyeon nodded, and then came closer so he could look out the window too - but he kept his distance from her.

“I heard you don’t eat all your meals.” he commented. “Don’t you like the food? We’re not putting anything inside it.”

Irene glanced at him.

“That’s not it.”

Junmyeon didn’t press her, and once again, Irene wondered why he was acting like this.

“You can walk around if you want. You’re not a prisoner.”

Irene frowned.

“Are you sure of that?”

“You didn’t invade or territory. You were left to die-“

“I _wasn’t_ left to die.”

They stared at each other for a few moments, until Irene looked away.

“Baëkhyun knew I was there. I just… I just don’t know what happened.”

“Well.” Junmyeon shrugged. “If that’s what you say.”

“Will you let me go?”

Junmyeon looked at her.

“I can’t do that. It’s beyond my hands right now.”

Irene shook her head.

“I don’t understand this.” she looked at him. “You won’t let me go, but at the same time says you’ll not interrogate me.”

He watched her with interest.

“You seem quite eager to be interrogated. Chanyeol would really like that.”

Irene frowned.

“I’m responsible for you.” Junmyeon continued. “I’m the one that has to gather information, but I was going to wait for you to recover a bit more before that.”

“Will you force me, if I don’t tell you anything?”

He shook his head.

“No.”

Irene looked at him, incredulous.

“Do you call this an interrogation?”

Junmyeon lifted the corner of his lips, and she was taken aback by the act.

“I’m not interrogating you right now.” he said. “We’re just talking.”

That conversation was extremely disturbing to her.

“Can I ask you something?” Junmyeon kept looking at her, and Irene had to force herself not to look away. She didn’t answer, and he probably took that as an incentive to keep going. “Can I know your name?”

She blinked. _Her name?_ It hadn’t happened to her until now that he didn’t know that.

She thought about lying. Scientists hardly ever left the Exo'rdium, and it was unlikely that they would fall into the hands of EXO - so there was no protocol for that situation.

But Junmyeon was looking at her, waiting for an answer, and Irene felt like she didn’t want to lie about it.

“Irene. My name’s Irene.”

Junmyeon nodded.

“Irene.” he repeated. “It’s nice meeting you.”

And in that moment, she knew that yes, those days would be weirder than she imagined.

————————–

“Do you know physical therapy exercises?”

Irene looked at Taeyeon, who was at her side watching what she was doing. The doctor came to visit her earlier that day, and found her doing some leg exercises.

“Yes. It’s the basics in one of our classes.”

Taeyeon adjusted her glasses.

“I’m sorry for asking you that, but I’ve been noticing in some of our conversations that you know a lot about medicine.” She hesitated, before continuing. “Were you a doctor there?”

Irene should’ve been alarmed by the question, but in reality she thought it was about time that someone cared about what she did in the enemy territory. Besides, there was no point in hiding it.

“Yes,” she said. “but over there, we’re called scientists.”

“Because you take care of… The experiments.”

From the way she spoke, it was obvious she was curious about X-EXO.

“Yes, we’re responsible for their health. But I wasn’t there when the cloning process took place.” She made it clear. “So I don’t know how the procedures happened, if that’s what you want to know.”

Taeyeon shook her head.

“We’re not interested in making clones. Actually, this is the last thing we want to know.”

Irene sat on the bed, tired. She was trying to take a few steps without the crutches, but it was still difficult.

“Don’t force yourself. It’s good to take a few steps during the day to train resistance, but too many can make the situation worse.”

Irene nodded, but the topic of the conversation they were having remained in her mind.

“Wouldn’t it be a smart move to find out how your enemies were made, so you can fight them?” she asked.

Taeyeon looked at her.

“Is that what you do?”

“We don’t need to do this anymore. They’ve been cloned, we have real copies to study.”

The doctor closed her lips in a thin line.

“They’re not the same, I’m sure you noticed this from the little time you spent with them.” She frowned. “These boys have suffered a lot being experimented on.”

To that, Irene couldn’t say anything. She remembered when she had arrived at the Exo'rdium, and no one was allowed to enter the building where the subjects were. But sometimes, when they had classes outside, she saw the flash of some young boys in the building next to hers.

It wasn’t until Irene was in her late teens that students were allowed to live in the same space as the boys. They were training to be scientists, so they had to be in contact with the subjects.

Sometimes she forgot how they were made – and how other people were involved to make this happen.

————————-

_It was raining again. It did nothing but rain on those days, and they were running out of buckets to put under the leaks in the ceiling._

_“Mom, I want to go somewhere else!” Joohyun whined. “Why do we have to stay here?”_

_The woman looked at her, stroking her hair._

_“Because here is our home, my darling.”_

_“I hate this house! Everything is wet, and I can’t sleep on my bed!”_

_The woman sat next to her, and smiled. Joohyun couldn’t understand that. She was upset, she wanted to leave. Why did they have to live like this?_

_“Joohyun, we’re very lucky to have a home. Some people in the city have nowhere to stay in this rain, and they suffer from the cold. Here, we’re safe.”_

_The little girl wiped her tears._

_“But mom, everything will be wet here too.”_

_The woman shook her head._

_“There’s always a place here where we can be protected.” she pulled Joohyun closer, hugging her. “If we stay close like this, we won’t get wet, huh?”_

_Joohyun sniffed, snuggling into the embrace, nodding._

_“All that matters is that we’re together, do you understand? Together.”_

_xx_

_“We love you, my darling. Now go. Go, Joohyun.”_

_Go._

_She ran._

_Her legs ached, her lungs were burning._

_Everything was dark. When she opened her mouth, there was no air._

_She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see, she couldn’t-_

Irene opened her eyes at once, breathless.

She sat on the bed, feeling dizzy.

She was used to the dreams, but they’d never been so real. She was shaking.

The room was dark, except for a faint light coming from the hall. It was probably still late at night.

Irene looked at the nightstand, seeing the empty water jar they had left to her earlier. Her mouth was dry, and she needed to drink something.

Getting up slowly, she took the crutches to walk. It was the first time Irene would leave that room - which made her a little nervous - but she had no other choice. Besides, Junmyeon said she could walk around, didn’t he?

The hall was long, but everything around it made it feel like a home, different from what looked like hospital halls in the Exo’rdium. Irene wandered, not really knowing where to go. If she saw someone there, she could’ve asked for information, but no one seemed to be awake at that hour.

It was obvious that she was on the ground floor of that building, and Irene wondered if the kitchen was on another floor. There were some stairs in sight, but it would be impossible for her to climb all of them in her condition.

Irene turned another hall, and then heard a sound. A large open door gave way to an outdoor space, and she approached it. Maybe whoever was there could help her…

She went outside, but then stopped.

A dark-haired man was practicing archery, shooting at a target, seeming focused. She would’ve interrupted him, if she didn’t know who he was.

Irene almost thought Sehůn was there. Even his posture was the same, and she just couldn’t move away.

The man made no mistake, all the arrows hitting bullseye. He seemed so concentrated, that Irene thought no distraction would make him go wrong. All his attention was on the target.

People at the Exo'rdium always tried to get Sehůn to use the bow prototype they had developed, but he always denied it. He insisted on saying that he would beat his original without the need of accessories.

But it was obvious how good Sehun was with it. He was so focused - which was probably why Irene didn’t expect when he suddenly turned towards her, shooting an arrow.

It was so fast, Irene didn’t even have time to scream. She sensed the arrow passing inches from her face, hitting the door beside her.

“Just because I’m not looking at you doesn’t mean I’m not seeing you.” Sehun said.

Irene couldn’t move, her heart beating too fast. She only realized how much she was shaking when she was no longer able to hold her crutches, staggering to the side. She leaned against the wall to keep from falling.

“Were you spying on me?” Sehun asked, but the tone was obviously accusatory.

Irene shook her head fast.

“No. I was… I was trying to find the kitchen. I don’t know…”

Sehun moved, and she stopped. He got closer to her, and from that distance, Irene could see his face better.

Dark hair, dark eyes, face without a scar. It triggered a memory on her mind, from a time when Sehůn’s face was like that, too.

His expression was serious, and Irene thought about something people at the Exo’rdium used to say, about how they found Sehůn one of the most intimidating subjects, with that scar on his face. Irene never thought that, and now looking at the boy in front of her, she also couldn’t find him intimidating. He just looked young and angry.

“What do you intend being here?” he asked her.

“Nothing.” Irene replied, because it was true.

Sehun frowned.

“Junmyeon hyung seems to think you have no bad intentions, but I still can’t trust you.”

She couldn’t blame him.

“I wouldn’t do anything. I can’t do anything.” she paused. “You’re all taking care of me now. I really wasn’t spying on you, I just wanted to get some water. I… Junmyeon told me I could take a walk, if I wanted to.”

Sehun watched her, and he still looked suspicious, but he flexed the arm with the bow on his back.

“The cafeteria is at the end of the hall on the right.”

He then left, and Irene kept standing where she was for a long time, trying to calm her heart, which was still racing.

When she turned to leave, she realized the arrow was stuck right in the middle of the door.

——————————- 

Obviously, Irene couldn’t sleep when she went back to the room.

The adrenaline was still strong in her body, and she kept repeating the scene in her mind. If Sehun wanted, he could’ve killed her right there, without hesitation. She didn’t think he would do that, though, but the thought was thrilling.

After much tossing and turning in bed, Irene managed to fall asleep when the first rays of sunlight were already coming through the window. There were no dreams this time, but when she woke up it seemed like she hadn’t slept at all.

Irene blinked a few times before opening her eyes, and saw someone standing next to the bedside table. Junmyeon seemed startled when he saw her looking at him.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”

Irene frowned, sitting on the bed slowly. She still felt tired.

“No…” she said, and then paused. “What are you doing here?”

Junmyeon scratched the back of his head with his free hand - in the other, he was holding a book.

“I came here to give you this.”

He held out the book, and she took it. It was old, the pages were turning yellow. There were flowers on the cover, and the title was peeling off.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so… Well, it’s a poetry book.” Irene looked at him. “You must be bored spending your days here with nothing to do, so I figured it would be nice to have something to spend time with.”

There he was again, being considerate. Irene didn’t know how to react, because really, that wasn’t a normal situation. That man had every reason to be indifferent to her, but against all odds, he came to her room and brought her a book.

“Thank you.” she said, meaning it. “I… I’ll read it.”

Junmyeon nodded, but remained standing where he was. It seemed like he wanted to say something else, and Irene thought that maybe the book was an excuse for that.

“Hm, Sehun told me you spoke with him last night.”

_Of course._

Irene turned on the defensive mode.

“I wasn’t spying on him…”

“I know.” He told her. “I know. Actually, I wanted to apologize for his behavior. But I think you understand.”

Irene left the book on the nightstand.

“Of course I do. I’m the enemy, am I not?”

Junmyeon seemed a little bothered by that question.

“You must’ve been startled because of him.”

She remembered the scene again, and almost flinched.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that. It’s not like I’m used to being shot with an arrow in the middle of the night.”

“Sehunie has very good reflexes. He would’ve never hurt you, unless he wanted to.”

Irene raised a brow.

“Isn’t that the point?”

Junmyeon gave a half smile.

“I guess it is.”

That made Irene even more confused. Was he really making a joke with the situation they were in? This man was messing with her mind.

A knock on the door stopped her from continuing that trail of thought.

“Excuse me.” the girl that used to bring her breakfast said, entering the room.

“Well, I’ll leave you to eat your breakfast in peace.” Junmyeon said. “Feel free to leave the book there if you don’t like it.”

“I don’t think I have many entertainment options here.” She said, and stopped for a second. “I’ll definitely read it, thank you.”

Junmyeon smiled lightly before leaving, and Irene kept telling herself that the warm feeling that remained with her during the morning was because of the soup.

—————————

Unlike the others, that day really seemed more productive for Irene - as far as it was possible, of course.

Taeyeon came to visit her, to check on her recovery and help with the exercises. Irene even walked a little in the hall, even though she had to lean against the wall for support.

She also took a few naps during the day, to recover from that bad night’s sleep - and incredibly, she was hungry enough to eat all her meals in full.

But the main point of that day was the book.

Irene liked to read, but most of the books she had in her room at the Exo’rdium were about science, medicine, and some on mathematics. She couldn’t remember the last time she took a book and read it just for the pleasure of reading.

So, through that day, she read. Irene didn’t expect that she would like a poetry book so much, but found herself rereading a few pages several times, just because the poem was interesting. She didn’t want to stop reading it, and at the same time, she didn’t want it to end.

At night, after eating dinner and taking a shower, Irene picked up the book again, to finish her reading. She wondered if Junmyeon would bring her another, when she finished this one. The thought, somehow, excited her.

It was well into the night when Irene heard the commotion.

People were talking loudly, there was a mix of voices - some that she recognized. Through the open door she saw people rushing by, and she frowned, finding it strange. She got up, going to the door.

Two girls were running holding clothes that were stained with something that looked like blood.

“Hey, hey!” Irene called, and the girls stopped. She recognized them, they were the ones that brought her meals during the day. “What happened? Why is everyone running?”

The girls looked at each other, probably not sure whether to say anything.

“It’s just that…” one of them started.

“Don’t say anything to her!” the other interrupted.

“But I heard her talking with Taeyeon unnie! She’s a scientist!”

“Yes I am.” Irene interrupted. “What happened?”

The younger girl bit her bottom lip.

“There was another fight at the border. Junmyeon oppa…” she stopped, starting to cry, being comforted by the other girl.

“What?” Irene insisted

“He’s hurt.” the girl that wasn’t crying said. “They took him to the medical floor.”

An alarm went off in her mind, and Irene started to move before thinking about what she was doing.

She knew it was better not to get involved in this, that it was better to go back to her room and pretend she hadn’t heard any of it. But Irene just couldn’t do it. It was as if her body acted on his own.

Irene remembered that in a conversation with Taeyeon, the doctor told her the medical rooms were on the first floor. With the crutches, it was difficult to climb the stairs, but Irene didn’t hesitate. She tried as hard as she could, and was sweating when she got to the floor.

There was a room at the beginning of the hall, and through the glass, Irene could see the EXO members inside, looking at a stretcher - where Junmyeon was lying, and Taeyeon was opening his vest.

She didn’t knock before coming in.

“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol asked, but Irene ignored him, trying to look at Junmyeon on the stretcher.

He was lying on his stomach, and when Taeyeon removed his vest, Irene saw that his back was completely burned. He groaned.

She tried to get closer, but Sehun stopped her.

“What are you doing?”

“Just let me…” she tried to move again, and this time Chanyeol pushed her away from the stretcher.

The move made her lose balance and the hold on the crutches, falling on the floor.

“Get out of here!” Screamed Chanyeol.

“I can help him!” Irene said, almost desperately.

“You’re kidding, right? Your X-EXO did this to him!”

“That’s exactly why I can help him!” She didn’t back down. “He was burned by Chanyeøl, wasn’t, he?” Some of the boys looked at each other, and Irene kept talking. “I developed a serum that helps the process of healing. I can help him!”

There was a moment of consideration between the boys.

“How can we know you’re not lying?” Jongdae asked.

“She _is_ lying!” Chanyeol interrupted.

“I’m not lying! You must have seen Sehůn today, haven’t you? Wasn’t he fine? It’s because I applied the serum the day that you burned him!”

The room was silent.

“Hyung.” Jongin started. “He was fine. We all saw him… Maybe she can help.”

Chanyeol growled, moving away. No one else said anything, and Jongin came closer to Irene, helping her to her feet and handing her the crutches.

“Can you really help him?” he asked, and Irene nodded, getting closer to the bed.

Junmyeon’s back was raw, probably worse than Sehůn’s that day. He seemed unconscious, but was a little agitated.

“They gave him one of the pills.” Taeyeon explained. “But I… I’ve never seen anything like this. Can you really…”

“Yes.” Irene answered. “Do you have a lab in here?”

Taeyeon nodded. The two didn’t wait and left the boys in the room, going to the lab.

Irene didn’t have to make much effort, she knew the formula by heart. She had spent months working on it, and Chanyeøl had enough fun burning his colleagues in the tests. The formula had been done for a purpose - but Irene never imagined she would use it for the opposite reason.

Taeyeon helped in what she could, bringing everything Irene needed. There was only one ingredient that the two had to ask Jongin to get - which was fast enough - and in half an hour they were leaving the lab with the serum ready.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun had left the room when they returned. Sehun was on the side of the bed holding Junmyeon’s hand, and Jongin and Jongdae were standing further apart, watching.

Irene went to the side of the bed, and Taeyeon kept her distance, trusting what she was going to do. She opened the bottle with the serum, and slowly poured it on the man’s back.

Junmyeon screamed, fidgeting on the stretcher.

“What have you done to him?” Sehun asked, nervous.

“Even if he’s half asleep, it still hurts.” Irene said. “But it’s normal. Tomorrow, he will be much better, and in two days there will be no scars on his back.”

“Should we cover the wounds?” Taeyeon asked

“Let the serum work for a few minutes, and then you can treat it like a normal burn.”

Taeyeon nodded and walked away to get what she needed. Jongin got close to the stretcher, looking with sad eyes at the unconscious man.

“Is he really going to be okay?”

Irene looked at him.

“Yes. I can assure you that.”

Jongin nodded, his expression full of concern.

Irene looked at Junmyeon, who had calmed down. She was always a logical person, she knew that the serum would work, there was no doubt.

But in that moment, that knowledge couldn’t stop the tightness in her heart.

————————– 

The next three days seemed to drag on.

Even if Irene wanted to, she didn’t go back to the medical floor. She knew that the boys would be there all the time, and the last thing they would want was to see her there. She respected that.

Taeyeon came to visit her normally, to see how her leg was doing, and told her about Junmyeon’s recovery. He was getting better every day, and knowing that was enough for Irene.

Jongin also showed up, one afternoon. He talked to her for a while, told her how Junmyeon was doing.

“It’s incredible, noona.” he said, referring to the effect of the serum. “The marks are almost gone. And I know it’s not easy, because I still have some scars on my arms from when Chanyeøl burned me that day.”

Irene told him she could make a little more of the serum for him, and the boy smiled, excited. Jongin had started calling her _“noona this, noona that”_ and she didn’t find it in her heart to stop him. Something about him being so young and innocent was growing on her.

He also said that she could go to the medical floor if she wanted to. Irene refused it, but thanked him for coming to see her.

In that way, she tried to deal with her days. Irene continued to think about the incident, and always wondered what would’ve happened to Junmyeon if she hadn’t been there. It was clear that the Exo’rdium had more technology, but were the people in the Elyxion really that vulnerable? Why did they continue to fight, if there were so many risks?

She couldn’t understand that, just as she couldn’t understand several things in this place.

In the rest of her time, Irene continued to read the book. Even when she finished it, she kept rereading it. There was something about that book that left her in peace. Especially that one poem, which was stuck in her mind since she had read it.

_Bring me warm rain_

_and lavender_

_and you_

_I want you most of all._

She kept staring at the page. Irene had never thought about that, of how the lavender flower was so small and discrete - but you only needed one to make the whole place smell like it.

That made her think of him.

There was a knock on the door, and Irene turned her head – just to see Junmyeon standing at the entrance of her room.

“Can I come in?”

She couldn’t find the voice to answer him. She wasn’t supposed to be that surprised, but Irene really wasn’t expecting him to show up there. Her heart was beating too fast.

Junmyeon didn’t wait for her to answer, entering the room. He wasn’t wearing the combat clothes he used to, but something similar to hers - sweatpants and a cotton shirt. His hair was damp, as if he just came out of the shower.

“You’re still reading this?” he asked, looking at the book on her lap. “I can’t tell if you liked it or are just reading it slowly because it’s so bad.”

Irene put herself together.

“What are you doing here?” she finally said. “You should be resting.”

Junmyeon looked at her.

“I think you know better than everybody that I’m fine.” she didn’t answer that, and his expression softened. “Do you want to take a walk?”

She should’ve said no - _she should’ve_ \- but Irene couldn’t find the words to deny it. Especially when he asked her that way. So she nodded, and got out of bed.

Irene imagined that the Elyxion compound was large, but she had no idea how much, until Junmyeon took her out of the room. Close to the training area she saw Sehun the other night, there was another common outdoor area, with a huge garden. There were several people around, walking, talking, playing. With each step she took, Irene was even more surprised.

“It’s nice, right?” he asked, noticing her expression.

“It’s beautiful.” she said, looking around. “How do you maintain it?” That was a very honest question. With the city destroyed by war, places like this were hard to find.

“There are some people responsible for looking after the garden specifically. Everybody likes this place, so we try our best.”

Irene nodded. They continued walking and looking around - Junmyeon slowing down to keep up with her pace with the crutches.

“Thank you.” he said, suddenly, and Irene looked at him. “Jongin told me what you did.”

She looked away, feeling a bit nervous.

“It’s ok.”

“No, it’s not.” He touched her arm lightly, to make her stop. “It seems impossible that my back is almost completely healed after the state it was. I’m sure you saved my life.”

Irene shook her head.

“You did the same for me.”

They looked at each other.

Irene wasn’t sure what was going on. She wasn’t even sure if that was supposed to happen, whatever it was. But maybe she was thinking too much. He’d saved her, and she did the same.

Two children ran between them, and Junmyeon gave her a smile, scratching the back of his neck.

“Should we keep going?”

Irene nodded, a hint of a smile on her face.

As they continued to walk, she saw, not far from them, Baekhyun and Chanyeol sitting on a bench. The silver-haired boy was saying something and the other was laughing, almost falling off the bench.

“He’s always overreacting.” Junmyeon commented, looking in the same direction as her.

“I never thought he was capable of laughing like this.”

Junmyeon smiled.

“Chanyeol isn’t a serious person at all. He just gets pretty defensive when you’re around.”

Irene looked at Junmyeon.

“He can literally burn me to ashes.”

The red-haired man continued to look at his friends.

“Chanyeol suffered a lot, probably more than all of us. He hates anyone who is connected to the Red Force.”

Like Junmyeon, Irene looked at the scene. Baekhyun was smiling at Chanyeol, and he had a soft expression on his face now, brushing the hair out of the other’s eyes. They were holding hands.

“Baekhyun’s a good relief for all of us, but he has always been Chanyeol’s strength. They like each other very much.”

She could see that. It was obvious in the way they looked at each other. Irene didn't know much about love, the feeling being foreign to her - but she was sure that was it.

“I’ve been thinking,” Junmyeon continued, and Irene looked at him. “maybe you could come and have your meals in the cafeteria.”

Irene blinked. That was random.

Going to the cafeteria? The thought was actually nice - getting out of the room, doing other things. But at the same time, that was part of their routine, and she wondered if it would look like an intrusion.

“I…” she hesitated. “I don’t know…”

“You’ll be welcome, don’t think otherwise.” Junmyeon assured her. “Everybody’s grateful for what you did. Chanyeol too, even though he would never say that.”

Irene had to laugh at that, and when she looked to the side, Junmyeon was already looking at her. She felt her cheeks heat up and looked away - the two of them continuing to walk.

————————- 

Irene looked at herself in the bathroom mirror for the third time that morning.

That was ridiculous. Why was she so worried about going to the cafeteria? She would just eat and then leave, there was nothing more to it. It wasn’t like they would throw her away… Or would they?

Irene shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. The girl who usually brought her breakfast was late, and she wondered if Junmyeon had told her to be late, to give Irene a chance to go to the cafeteria.

_“Don’t overthink it”._

She picked up her crutches, and before she could change her mind, Irene left the room.

People at the Elyxion seemed to be getting used to Irene’s presence there, not caring too much when they saw her walking down the halls. She couldn’t say she didn’t like it - doing things without looking like she was being watched was nice.

Despite that, her going to the cafeteria wasn’t a common sight, and all eyes turned to her as soon as she walked in. In the middle of the room, the EXO members were sitting at a table, bodies turned in her direction. Junmyeon looked pleased, but she didn’t wait to see what he was going to do, moving quickly to get a tray.

There was just one problem. She didn’t think it would be so difficult to do that while she leaned on her crutches.

“Hey, noona.” Jongin appeared on her side, startling her. Did he teleport over there? “Can I help you with that?”

She didn’t really say yes, but he was already picking up a tray for her. Irene blinked, a little taken aback as she answered him when he asked her what she wanted to eat.

When they were done, Jongin started to move to the EXO table, but Irene stopped him.

“I’ll sit over there.” she told him, pointing at an empty table a little far away.

It looked like he wanted to protest, but Jongin just nodded, carrying the tray to the table. When Irene sat down, she saw Junmyeon leaving his spot and approaching them.

“You came.” he said.

It was just a fact, but his expression was so bright that she couldn’t think for a second.

“Hm, yes. I don’t think it’s going to hurt.”

Junmyeon sat in front of her.

“Of course it won’t. I said you would be welcome.”

Irene glanced at the EXO table, who didn’t look so excited with her presence.

“Don’t mind them.” Jongin said. “They’re just jealous.”

Irene turned to him. _“Jealous”?_

Junmyeon cleared his throat, and the younger said nothing more.

“So,” Junmyeon changed the subject. “Taeyeon said she would examine you today to see if you can remove the splint.”

Irene sighed.

“Yes. I can’t take any more walking with these crutches. I can’t wait to get rid of them.”

“But are you sure you’re okay? Don’t you feel any pain?”

“Just a little. But I think it will be fine if I continue the exercises. Anyway, we will only know when we remove the splint and analyze the situation.”

Junmyeon nodded.

“Noona,” Jongin started. “if you’re ok, will you be able to make that serum for me?”

Irene smiled lightly.

“I’ll speak to Taeyeon about it.”

Junmyeon looked confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“Irene noona said she would make me some anti-burn serum, to get rid of the marks left on my arms.”

The red-haired man frowned.

“You shouldn’t be bothering her.”

“Come on, hyung. Your back is completely healed.”

Junmyeon said nothing, and Irene looked at him. As a doctor, she would’ve liked to see the healing process, to see how he was doing - but in that situation, she couldn’t just ask him to take off his shirt and show his back.

“It’s all right.” She assured him. “It’s not difficult, I can do a little more.”

Junmyeon smiled slightly and Irene looked away, paying attention to her food.

———————— 

In the early afternoon, Irene went to Taeyeon’s office. It was a little earlier than they had scheduled, but she was so eager to remove that splint that she couldn’t wait in her room.

The office door was open, but when she got closer, Irene saw that someone was already inside. Baekhyun was sitting on a stretcher, and Taeyeon was taking care of what appeared to be a cut on his arm.

The boy kept talking nonstop, but even when she concentrated on what she was doing, Taeyeon paid attention to his every word. She smiled a few times, the smiles discreet, looking at his face when the boy wasn’t paying attention.

Maybe Irene was seeing too much of some things because her mind was so free these days – _or maybe it could be because of that poetry book_ – but she was sure at that moment that Taeyeon liked Baekhyun.

Taeyeon finished what she was doing and Baekhyun moved his arm, flinching a little, probably because it hurt.

“Don’t move too much or you will open the stitches.”

“Alright, sorry.” Baekhyun touched his arm. “Thank you, noona. You saved me again.”

He smiled at her, and Taeyeon shook her head, looking down. Her cheeks were a soft pink, and she adjusted the glasses on her face.

“It’s alright.”

Someone passed Irene by the door, entering the room quickly - interrupting the scene. Chanyeol stopped beside the stretcher, looking at Baekhyun with concern.

“What happened, Baek? They told me you were here.”

“It’s nothing.” Baekhyun reassured him. “I was just training with Sehunie.”

“Did he hit you with an arrow on purpose?”

“Well…” Baekhyun bit his lower lip. “I did tease him that he wouldn’t be able to hit me when I was running.”

Chanyeol sighed, shaking his head.

“But I’m fine now, Taeyeon noona took care of me.”

“Just make sure he doesn’t move his arm too much.” she told Chanyeol.

“I will definitely make sure of that.” Chanyeol said, and Baekhyun got off the stretcher.

“Thanks again, noona.” he said to Taeyeon, before following Chanyeol out of the room.

The two stopped when they saw Irene at the door, but Chanyeol just continued on his way without saying anything, while Baekhyun smiled and said a _“hello”_ before leaving. Only then Taeyeon noticed she was there.

“Oh. Irene, I’m sorry to keep you waiting…” she said, and then hesitated. “Have you been here for a long time…?”

Irene thought about saying the truth, but that would mean she would’ve seen the previous scene, with Baekhyun - and she was sure Taeyeon wouldn’t want to talk about it.

“No.” she shook her head. “I just got here.”

“Alright…” she paused. “So, let’s see if you can take off this splint?”

Irene nodded.

She had a feeling that her leg would no longer be swollen, and when Taeyeon removed the splint, they could see she was right. It was clear the Elyxion didn’t have as much technology as the Exo’rdium, but their techniques were also good. Irene could feel that her leg was much better.

They still did some tests, pressing her leg and walking, and although it still hurt a little, it was tolerable. Irene could walk normally, just limping a little, but without the help of crutches.

“You know you need to continue exercising daily to be completely well.” Taeyeon told her. “Also, I don’t think you’re going to do that, but don’t push yourself too hard, and don’t run around or anything.”

Irene nodded, not believing that running could really be an option now.

“I won’t. Thank you, Taeyeon.”

When she left the room, Irene felt the best she had ever been in all those days.

Being restricted was terrible, and now walking through the halls was much easier and much more satisfying. Irene suddenly thought of Junmyeon - she wanted to tell him, show him. It was such a strong thought that she didn’t stop herself from looking for him in the compound.

Unfortunately, he was nowhere in sight - and Irene didn’t want to ask anyone, because she knew it would sound strange. In the end, she just walked through the garden, feeling the late afternoon chilly breeze, and thinking about the last time she walked there with Junmyeon.

She was so lost in thought that she almost didn’t see Jongdae, playing chess on a table not far from where she was. Irene stopped, the familiar scene startling her for a moment.

Of all the boys, she would say that Jongdae was the most different.

Where Chën had a perfect posture, with perfectly fitted clothes and slick styled hair, Jongdae just seemed more carefree - practical and simple, with curly hair covering his forehead in a messy way.

He suddenly looked to the side - _at her_ \- and Irene didn’t know whether to stay there or leave.

“Do you want to play?” he asked, surprising her.

That scene, too, seemed like a deja-vú. Despite that, she nodded.

She sat across from him, watching the boy put the pieces back together. Chën never did that, he liked that she played from where he left off.

“Do you know how to play?”

Irene nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then you can start.”

Irene wasn’t sure why he wanted her company. It was clear that he was more open to her presence than Chanyeol or Sehun, but he never seemed to express that - until now.

She moved a piece.

Jongdae looked at the board for some time before moving one, too.

The two played a few rounds in silence, until he seemed surprised by a move Irene made.

“Nice play. I didn’t think you guys would have time for trivial hobbies like this one.”

Irene watched him play.

“It’s a logical game, it helps with mind control. We all had some lessons on that.”

Jongdae was silent for a moment.

“Does he play too?”

Irene didn’t expect him to ask about Chën, but then, nothing was being predictable here.

“Yes.” she said. “It’s one of his favorite things to do.”

Jongdae raised the corner of his lips.

“Besides stalking people with his cameras?”

He had made a move that Irene wasn’t sure how to overcome. She thought about it and moved a piece without answering the question.

“Why does he never show up in combat?” Jongdae asked, and Irene looked at him. He was frowning, and she knew that matter bothered him enough for him to ask her.

“Chën is very smart. He prefers to use his mind in strategy than his body in combat.”

Jongdae was still frowning.

“He doesn’t use his thunder?”

“Yes, but only if he needs to. I believe that Chën wants to win with something that…” She paused “Well, that’s not someone else’s.”

Jongdae seemed unbothered by that.

“Good time to have these principles.” he murmured, before moving a piece. “Check Mate.”

Irene looked at the board, seeing how fast he had changed the game - and wondered what would happen if him and Chën faced each other.

————————– 

The night came, and Irene still hadn’t seen Junmyeon.

She hoped she could meet him in the cafeteria at dinner, but he wasn’t there. EXO’s table was also not full - only Baekhyun, Jongdae and Sehun were there. Irene sat down with Taeyeon and a few other people from the medical center, but wasn’t hungry to eat all of her dinner.

Later in her room, Irene thought about trying to sleep early, but she didn’t feel tired at all, and decided to take a hot shower and try to relax. As she was leaving the bathroom, there was a knock on the door - and her heart skipped a beat.

Her whole body was telling her – _was wishing_ – that it was going to be him, but Irene tried not to put her hopes up when she went to open the door – and saw Junmyeon standing there.

“Hi. I wasn’t sure if you would be sleeping… You weren’t, right?”

Irene shook her head. She didn’t know why she was so pleased to see him there, and they continued to look at each other - but Junmyeon was awkward, holding a plate with what looked like cake in his hands.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked, and he nodded.

Junmyeon entered the room, Irene closing the door behind them, and it was the first time that the two were alone like this. The realization hit her, and there was a moment of tension in the room.

“This is a cake from the cafeteria.” He explained, breaking the silence. “It’s my favorite, so I stole a piece, but… I don’t know if you’d like…”

Irene watched him.

“I ate a lot at dinner, today.” she told him.

“Ah.” Junmyeon blinked. “Ah, it’s okay. I just… Well…” He frowned, looking down, and seemed to notice her leg. “You removed the splint.”

Irene followed his gaze, moving her leg.

“Yes, this afternoon.”

“Are you okay? Doesn’t it hurt?” She shook her head “That’s good.”

There was another moment of silence in the room, and Irene didn’t really want to say that - but it seemed that she was unable to contain her curiosity those days, especially when it came to Junmyeon.

“I haven’t seen you in the building all day.” She commented, without really asking.

“I had to attend some meetings today.” he told her. “They went outside the compound, so… It was a little far away.”

Irene knew that the Red Force was the one who determined everything in the Exo'rdium and controlled X-EXO - but it was a mystery to everyone who was behind EXO. She felt like if she asked him, Junmyeon would tell her, but Irene was actually surprised to realize she didn’t want to talk about it with him at that moment.

She walked around the room, past him to the nightstand, where the poetry book was.

“I think I should give this back to you.”

Junmyeon looked at the book, and shook his head.

“You can keep it. I have plenty of books in my room.”

Irene didn’t know why, but that didn’t sound strange.

“Do you really like poetry?”

Junmyeon gave her a half smile.

“It’s kind of ironic in the times we live in, isn’t it?”

She looked at him, feeling something deep about it.

“Not really.” she said, meaning it.

Junmyeon seemed taken aback by that, and the mood in the room changed.

“Can I ask you which one is your favorite, if you have one?”

Irene hesitated, but sat on the bed and opened the book, looking for the page. She noticed when Junmyeon sat next to her, leaving the plate with the cake on the nightstand.

She found the lavender poem, and showed it to him. Junmyeon looked at the page with a light smile, and Irene was unable to look away from him.

“I like this one a lot, too.”

“Do you have a favorite?”

Junmyeon eyed her, and started flipping through the book again until he stopped on a page. Irene saw the title, _“Always”_.

“Do you mind if I read it out loud?” Junmyeon asked.

She shook her head.

“No.”

Junmyeon seemed to concentrate, and Irene watched every detail in his expression as he read.

_“You were you, and I was I; we were two, before our time. I was yours before I knew, and you have always been mine too.”_

It was such a small poem, a quick reading - but the depth it had, the depth she felt from Junmyeon was so intense, it was almost too much for Irene.

“That was my parent’s favorite.” Junmyeon said, before finally looking back at her.

Irene knew she should’ve moved, that she should’ve said something, but it was impossible. His voice still reverberated in her ears, and now that he was looking at her, everything around seemed out of focus.

She didn’t notice her body leaning towards him - _or maybe it was him who was approaching her?_ Irene didn’t know. But they were close, and she could see every detail of his face.

Junmyeon had a small scar on his lower lip. It was so small that it couldn’t be noticed unless you were close, like this. His eyes were almost hidden behind the red hair, and Irene’s fingers were itching to get it out of the way.

_“Irene…”_

Hearing the soft tone of his voice made her realize what was about to happen, all the warnings in her mind going off.

_Were they about to kiss?_

Irene moved away, getting up from the bed. Her mind was still fuzzy, but she had to get a grip of herself.

_What was going on?_

“Irene?”

She looked at Junmyeon. He looked confused, still sitting on the bed.

“I think I need to sleep.” She said, suddenly. “I… Thanks for the cake. But I’m tired, I… I need to sleep.”

Junmyeon kept quiet for a few moments, but then stood up, without pressuring her. He also knew what would have happened, so why wasn’t he questioning her? This confused Irene even more.

“Alright.” He said, leaving the book on the bed. “You can send it back to the cafeteria if you don’t want to.” He continued, referring to the cake.

And after looking at her one more time, Junmyeon left the room.

Irene sat on the bed again, feeling weak.

What was happening to her? She wasn’t like that.

Even when she was involved with Sehůn, Irene knew it wasn’t right. She knew that being with a subject wasn’t good for her job. But Junmyeon? That was even worse.

He was EXO.

He was the enemy. She used to do her best everyday to develop things that would help to destroy him.

And now, against all odds, she had almost kissed him.

And she _wanted_ to.

That’s what scared her the most. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last part! first, I really want to thank one of my best friends for being the beta reader for this fic - Lola, you're awesome 💚 and also, like I said in the first chapter, this is crossposted from my tumblr, but all the reviews I got from here are so good and they made me so happy! I really want to thank everybody who read it~~ hope you all enjoy this chapter too!
> 
> p.s: at some point in this chapter, Junmyeon will play a song on the piano, and since I don’t want to give any spoilers, I’ll just leave the link for it here, so you guys can check it when you get there. [(x)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLF1lW3Ffrg)

The next day, Irene didn’t go to the cafeteria.

No one showed up to bring her breakfast, but the girl didn’t mind it – she wasn’t hungry. In truth, she wasn’t feeling good at all.

The night was really hard, and she barely got any sleep, her mind racing with thoughts. That morning she was especially on edge, thinking Junmyeon might come looking for her again - but he didn’t show up.

That left Irene with a strange feeling, even when she kept telling herself she didn’t want him to come.

Around lunchtime, Taeyeon came to see how her leg was doing, and suggested that the two of them could go have lunch together. Irene had no excuse to deny that, and truth be told, she was starting to feel hungry. So, she just went with Taeyeon.

Probably because it was still early, EXO’s table was empty. Irene tried to pretend she wasn’t eating too fast, but still, she left the cafeteria as soon as she finished. Irene had asked Taeyeon to use the lab that afternoon, to make some of the serum Jongin had asked her, and the doctor allowed it.

Being in a lab was something Irene was used to. It was familiar, and over there she could be logical again. It was a safe space for her.

She took her time while working, trying to do things at a slower pace than she used to. Still, that didn’t take long, and in less than an hour, Irene had finished it.

With no other options, she returned to her room. But Irene was feeling anxious, and after much consideration, in the end of the afternoon she decided to go out and take a walk.

On her way to the gardens, she passed the training ground, where Sehun and Jongin were practicing - and Junmyeon sat on the side, watching them.

Her heart raced, and Irene was going to keep walking, but Jongin saw her before she could leave.

“Noona!”

She waved awkwardly.

“Hey, Jongin.”

He left the ground, walking to her.

“People were saying you went to the lab, today.”

“Ah.” Of course, gossip spread quickly. “It’s true. I made the serum for you. When you want, you can go get it. I was going to tell you.”

Jongin smiled, excited.

“Really? Thank you!” Irene nodded. “Hey, don’t you want to watch our practice?”

Irene glanced at Junmyeon. His expression didn't say much, but in a sense, that seemed even worse. 

“Hm, I don’t know, Jongin…”

“Come on, I’m sure you’ve never seen me in action from this close. I was beating Sehun.” 

“No, you weren’t!” Sehun protested, and Jongin gave a mischievous smile.

“Come on.”

Denying it right in front of them without a convincing reason was going to sound strange, and things were already weird with Junmyeon as they were. So she accepted, and went to sit on the same bench, but a little further away from him.

That didn't help, though. She still could feel Junmyeon’s eyes on her.

Trying her best, Irene focused on the training that was taking place in front of her.

Jongin was holding a target, teleporting to different places in the field. Sehun followed him, shooting arrows to hit the target. He did it, but never in the middle.

It was obvious Jongin was focusing, but there was a playful smile on his lips, different from the wicked ones she was used to seeing in Kāi. Despite that, Irene was aware of how strong the boy was.

Somewhere in her mind, she remembered that it was Jongin who had broken Chanyeøl’s ribs that day.

“Hyung!” a different voice broke out on the training ground, and everyone turned to see Jongdae running towards Junmyeon, his expression serious.

“What happened?” Junmyeon asked

“They’re attacking people at the border again. There’s a house on fire.”

“Where are Baekhyun and Chanyeol?”

“Already on their way.”

“Alright, go get the car.”

Irene observed their fast dynamics, Jongdae leaving followed by Sehun, who didn’t wait for orders. Junmyeon turned to Jongin.

“Go over there, but don’t attack. Wait at least for Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”

Jongin nodded, serious.

“Yes, hyung.” he said, and immediately disappeared, leaving Irene and Junmyeon alone.

They looked at each other. She wanted to say something, _she really did_ , but the words got stuck on her throat.

Junmyeon didn’t wait.

Irene continued to look at the door long after he left.

———————–

She had never felt that way before. Irene had never felt that sensation, that agony of waiting for someone.

She lost all the people who were important to her at a very young age, so she never had to deal with attachment, with hoping, with worry - not for a long time. Irene only cared about herself.

And she was fine with that.

But as the hours passed and she waited for them to come back, Irene found herself in a place of complete despair – with her hands tied, she couldn’t do anything but wait.

The image of Junmyeon leaving played on repeat in her mind. The image of Junmyeon lying on the bed was burned in her retinas. The image of Junmyeon smiling at her, and the thought that if anything happened she would never see him again was clear to her now.

What was going on? How were they? Irene didn’t have Chën’s cameras there to watch the fight. She had nothing to do but worry and wait.

_Wait._

That was crushing everything inside her, and the thoughts of what could be happening there were making her feel sick - because Irene _knew_ what X-EXO was capable of.

She knew what their goal was.

Irene sat in the cafeteria until no one else was there, and she kept looking at her watch as the hours passed. And that devastating feeling never left.

It was well into the night when she heard the voices.

And Irene ran.

She ran through the halls, so fast that her legs burned with the effort and she was out of breath. But Irene didn't stop, not until she saw the six boys in front of her.

They were all there, dirty but appearing to have only minor injuries - Sehun was the only one who had to lean on Chanyeol.

Behind them, Junmyeon was looking at her. He had a cut on his eyebrow, but other than that, he was fine.

_He was fine._

Irene wouldn’t know how to explain that feeling of relief - it was so strong that all thoughts vanished from her mind for a moment. She just wanted to go to him, wanted to hug him, to feel his touch and smell his skin.

But at the same time that all these feelings came to her, with them also came a realization.

She cared about him. _God help her_ , she liked this man more than she would admit to herself.

But Irene knew what those feelings would bring. She was reminded of the pain, of how hard it hurt to lose someone she cared about. Irene promised herself to never get this close, to never feel too much.

_Never._

That hit her harder than anything.

“Are you okay?” she heard Taeyeon’s voice, who had arrived there at some point.

“Yes, but Baëkhyun cut Sehun on the side of his stomach.” Chanyeol told her.

“I’m fine.” Sehun said

“Let’s go to my office, I’ll take care of it.”

Irene turned to the blonde.

“Let me go with you. I can help.”

The doctor seemed surprised.

“They all have minor injuries, but they need to be treated. I can help.” Irene continued.

Taeyeon didn’t hesitate for long - probably because she needed the help.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

None of the boys complained, probably too tired for that even if they wanted to. Irene felt Junmyeon’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him as she followed Taeyeon to the medical floor.

There, she focused on what she did best. Irene took care of Jongin, Jongdae and Baekhyun, while Taeyeon stayed with the other three. Junmyeon kept trying to approach her, but she didn’t give him an opening, focusing on the boys she was taking care of.

Irene knew she would fall apart if she talked to him at that moment. 

When everything was finished, Irene finally looked around, but Junmyeon wasn’t in the room anymore. Taeyeon was still stitching up Sehun, but she said she could do it alone, and thanked Irene for her help.

So the girl left, going to her room, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time.

Why was this happening to her? Why now?

_And why him?_

Everything was already too complicated as it was.

When she got to her room, Junmyeon was there - waiting for her at her door. Of course. Of course he was.

It was almost too much, just seeing him.

“You should be resting.” Irene said, trying to keep her composure.

Junmyeon kept looking at her, but didn’t answer. Irene tried to get past him to go into the bedroom, but he held her arm.

“What do you want?” she asked, trying to sound indifferent, but obviously failing.

“I want you to talk to me, Irene.”

The expression on his face was breaking her.

“I have nothing to say to you.” Irene said, her voice almost shaking.

“Then why were you waiting?”

“I wasn’t waitin-”

“You were waiting.” He interrupted her, resolute. “I saw your face when we got here.”

“I wasn’t.” she repeated, and now her voice was definitely shaking. “ _I wasn’t.”_

“You’re lying.”

Irene tried to keep her head up.

“Believe what you want, Junmyeon.”

He frowned.

“Why do you keep acting like this? Why do you keep being distant, when I know that’s not what you want?”

Irene shook her head, not wanting to hear that, but he held her shoulders.

“Let me go, Junmyeon. I don’t… I don’t do this…”

“You don’t do what?” he pressed.

“This!” she exploded, moving away from him. “I don’t do this! I don’t wait for anyone, I don’t care about anyone! I only care about me! Because I only have myself!”

Her vision was getting blurry, and Irene hadn’t noticed, but tears were already streaming down her face.

“I can’t do this. I can’t do this again! Everyone… Everyone that I care about leaves. And I can’t…” she sobbed. “I can’t…”

Junmyeon moved, and in the next second, he was hugging her. She tried to pull away, without success.

“It’s all your fault.” she said, losing all her strength. “It’s all your fault…”

Junmyeon hugged her tighter, while she cried against his chest. He didn’t ask anything, he didn’t say anything. He just hugged her.

And in that moment, that was enough.

——————————–

_She was tired of running._

_Her legs were hurting, her mouth was dry and her eyes burned because of the fine dust in the air._

_Joohyun tripped and fell, but this time she didn’t get up. She had no strength left for anything, and there were no more tears to cry._

_She wanted to go back, but now there was nowhere else to go._

_She was alone._

_The scorching sun was burning Joohyun’s skin, but she didn’t move. Maybe she could just stay there. It would be so easy to just give up. Joohyun wondered if when she died, she would meet her parents again._

_In the midst of her delirium, a shadow stopped in front of her. Joohyun blinked slowly, thinking she was seeing things - but when she looked up, there was someone in front of her._

_A man, dressed in bright red._

_He knelt in front of her, and Joohyun saw that he was holding a bottle of water. She immediately started to move, and the man helped her sit down, giving her the bottle. Joohyun drank without hesitation, too thirsty to think about anything else._

_“Are you feeling better now, Joohyun?”_

_She looked at him. Joohyun was sure she had never seen this man in her life._

_“How do you know my name?”_

_“Red force knows everything.” he told her. “We’re going to help you.”_

_Help me?_

_Joohyun wasn’t expecting help. She wasn’t expecting anything, at this point._

_But she was tired. Tired and scared. Joohyun didn’t want to run anymore._

_So when that man held out his hand, she took it._

————————–

“Hey, noona! Sit here with us!”

Irene looked at EXO’s table, where Jongin was waving at her. Everybody was there, except for Junmyeon, which was strange. She hesitated.

“We have an extra chair, today.” Jongdae said, surprising her.

Irene looked at the other boys, but none of them seemed against it. Not even Chanyeol, who just kept eating his rice. So she approached the table and sat next to Jongin.

“Thank you.” Irene said, when he moved away so that she had more space. “How are you?” she asked. Jongin had been cut on his forearm, but he didn’t need stitches.

“I’m fine. The scar’s almost gone.”

“We’re all very thankful for your help last night.” Baekhyun said. “I know we’re a lot of work to Taeyeon noona.”

Irene shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

After that, the boys got into other conversations, and she tried to not get in the way while eating her breakfast – until Sehun asked where Junmyeon was.

“He had to leave for a meeting earlier this morning.” explained Jongdae. “Because of yesterday.”

Irene wanted to ask when he was coming back, but stopped herself – and kept eating as if she hadn’t heard anything.

That morning, Taeyeon had asked her if she could help with the work on the medical floor. Apparently, it was checkup day with the people who lived at Elyxion, and one of the nurses was sick, so she couldn’t help. Obviously Irene accepted, and the two spent most of the day in Taeyeon’s office.

Of course that didn’t stop her from thinking about Junmyeon.

Irene thought that occupying her mind would be easy if she was busy, but anytime she had a free time, he came to her head. The night before, after she had stopped crying, Junmyeon took her to the bedroom, and waited by the bed until she fell asleep. Maybe Irene was too tired - mostly emotionally - because that didn’t take long.

When she woke up, the memories of the night before were very vivid on her mind. The warmth of Junmyeon’s embrace, the scent of his body. Thinking about it was enough to keep her calm.

Junmyeon was soft – he was very soft, where Irene was all rough. So even though she was afraid of herself, of where those feelings would take her, she was also afraid for him. Afraid she would taint him.

All of this was very foreign to Irene. Caring about someone more than she cared about herself. Wanting someone to be okay, despite all things. But with Junmyeon, it was like that. And she was starting to see she couldn’t change that.

In the late afternoon, when Irene was leaving the medical floor to go to her room, she met Junmyeon in the hall. The two stopped, looking at each other for a moment.

“There’s a place I wanted to show you.” he told her. “Can you come with me?”

Irene nodded, slowly.

Junmyeon led the way, and Irene followed him to a part of the building that she had never seen before. There was a flight of stairs almost hidden, and the two went up to the rooftop.

The place wasn’t as high as the roof she used to stay on the Exo'rdium, but they had a good view of the entire Elyxion compound over there, and a little bit of the city. The sun was setting, and the sky was turning orange.

Junmyeon guided her to a safe spot, where they sat side by side.

“I like to come here.” he said. “But I almost don’t have any free time, so it’s been a while.”

Irene watched the sun setting.

“I had a place like this that I liked to go, too.” She thought about the Exo’rdium. It seemed so far away, now.

They were silent for some time. Irene looked at Junmyeon, and then down to her hands.

“I’m sorry.” Junmyeon looked at her, and she had to look back. “About yesterday. All those things I said. I just…” Irene closed her eyes for a moment. “I was scared.”

Admitting that was probably one of the most difficult things she had ever done. Junmyeon didn’t judge her.

“Of me?” he asked, and Irene shook her head.

“No. Of feeling again.”

It was clear Junmyeon wouldn’t understand that, so Irene gathered all her strength, continuing.

“My parents died when I was young. It was in one of the attacks of the war, before the borders were delimited.” she stopped for a second, because it was hard. It was so hard to talk about that. “I had nowhere to go, but this agent from the Red Force found me. They gave me shelter, food, clothes, education. They told me I was going to work for a bigger purpose. So I just dedicated myself to that.”

Irene looked at Junmyeon, and she really didn’t want to cry again, but she found that it was impossible.

“I had nobody but myself, Junmyeon. And it was easier that way. It _is_ easier that way.”

He watched her for a while, before turning to the landscape in front of them. They could see the garden from there, and some children were playing on the grass.

“When I was young, these people came and took me and these boys to a lab, to be experimented on.” he started. “Those were the hardest days of my life, and I don’t think I would’ve made it if I were there alone.” Junmyeon paused. “But the thing is, I wasn’t. We had each other. When we managed to get out of there, we knew it was going to be a difficult path. But we kept going, because we could count on each other. Even though it was difficult, and even though it might hurt, it was still worth it.” Junmyeon looked at her. “It _is_ still worth feeling, Irene. I can’t guarantee you it will be easy. But it will be enough.”

Irene blinked her tears away, her breath heavy. Junmyeon held her face, stroking her cheek.

“I will never regret bringing you here.” he told her. “I will nev-”

She knew that if he kept talking, she would fall apart – so Irene leaned forward, and kissed him.

It was like being shocked, the sensation too much for her body. She was holding the collar of his vest with so much force, trying to keep herself straight. Junmyeon embraced her waist, bringing her closer, and that was all the support Irene needed.

She felt like she was drowning and Junmyeon was saving her, as ironic as that sounded.

His lips were soft.

It was Junmyeon the one to deepen their kiss, spreading her lips apart with his own - moving his tongue in a slow rhythm that Irene could do nothing but follow.

It was already too much and not enough at the same time.

Junmyeon moved a hand to her arm, slowly going up to her shoulders, then down to her waist again - and it was like he left a trail of fire in her skin. Her heart was beating so fast she felt lightheaded.

He pulled away, just enough their lips weren’t touching anymore, and leaned his forehead against hers. Irene was still holding his collar, eyes closed. 

“I won’t force anything on you.” he told her, and she felt his breath on her face. “But I do like you, Irene. Very much.”

_I like you._

She opened her eyes, looked at him – at his soft lips, his warm eyes. This feeling of trust was so foreign to her, but with Junmyeon’s arms around her like that, Irene couldn’t ignore how she felt, too.

So she nodded, feeling the tears fall again, and pressed her lips to his one more time.

———————–

The next day, Irene sat on EXO’S table again.

It felt easier, and it was a lot more natural – especially because Junmyeon was there, too. They weren’t acting different or anything, but the mood was obviously lighter. And Irene definitely felt more relaxed, with him by her side.

“Jongin, do you want to train, today?” Sehun asked, at some point in their conversation.

The green-haired boy shook his head, swallowing his food.

“I can’t, I’ll make some deliveries with Junmyeon hyung, today.”

“Is it today? I didn’t remember.” Sehun said, seeming a bit upset.

_Deliveries?_ Irene looked at Junmyeon, slightly curious.

“We’re going to deliver supplies and medicines to the village today.” He explained.

“Ah…”

“Noona, you should come too!” Jongin told her.

Irene hesitated.

“I…”

“It would be nice.” Junmyeon said. She looked at him, and he was smiling lightly, making her heart beat faster.

The other boys were looking at them, and Junmyeon cleared his throat.

“I mean, they may need a doctor, and Taeyeon is busy today.” he added, like he was trying to explain himself. It was kind of cute. 

“I have to train my reflexes…” Sehun mumbled, pouting slightly.

“I’ll train with you.” Baekhyun told him.

“Really? Ah, hyung, thank you!”

“What, you’re going to risk being cut again?” Chanyeol asked Baekhyun, but his tone wasn’t really serious.

“Hey. If I managed to cut him that means I’m pretty good, right?” Sehun asked.

“Not if your purpose is hitting the target.”

“Don’t be like this, Channie.” Baekhyun said. “I was taking it easy on him that day.”

Sehun protested, and the two continued to tease each other, but in a fun way. The rest of the table was laughing, and Irene looked at Junmyeon. His eyes turned to half moons when he smiled like that.

She could see in his expression, how important those boys were to him. Irene was too used to the X-EXO motto - _one are we_ \- with everyone just caring about themselves and doing things only thinking about what they’d gain from it. Here, things were different.

Those boys were united by their friendship. By what they lived together, and by the strength they could give to each other. Junmyeon’s words from the night before were still strong on her mind.

_“It is still worth feeling, Irene. I can’t guarantee you it will be easy. But it will be enough.”_

And even when all of that was so different to her, Irene was starting to understand it.

xx

She was a little anxious about leaving the Elyxion, she wouldn’t lie about that. In truth, Irene didn’t know how people would react to her presence, but she tried to ignore that feeling - there was no way anyone could know she used to work for the Red Force.

She, Junmyeon and Jongin took a car, leaving the compound surroundings. The ride wasn’t long, and in about fifteen minutes, Irene could already see some houses in the village.

In the Exo’rdium, they knew that village existed. Because it was located so close to the Elyxion, people from there were more protected, since X-EXO couldn’t trespass the borders easily. That was something the Red Force didn’t bother to do, because protecting people definitely wasn’t their priority.

When the car entered the place, people were already approaching. Junmyeon stopped, and all of them seemed happy to see the boys there. Irene didn’t know what to do, but she got out of the car with them. Of course people were looking, but no one seemed too upset by her presence there.

They had brought medicine and supplies, and Irene helped the two men unload the truck and distribute everything. People seemed very grateful, always giving thanks with smiles on their faces.

Irene wasn’t used to that.

When Junmyeon told them she was a doctor, Irene was a little taken aback by that. But some people approached her, to be examined, and she tried to pay attention to them. Just in case, she had brought some things from Taeyeon’s office, and it was very useful.

“You should take the medicine I gave your mom, alright?” she was telling a little girl, who was the last one in line. 

“Okay.” the girl said, and looked at her before asking. “Are you Junmyeon’s oppa girlfriend?”

Irene couldn’t help but blush at that. When she looked at him, Junmyeon was smiling a little.

“She’s very pretty, isn’t she?” He asked the little girl, who nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! I already like you a lot, unnie!” she said, before suddenly hugging Irene. The woman couldn’t move, surprised. “You’ll come here again, right?”

Irene didn’t answer, still taken aback, but Junmyeon brushed the girl’s hair and smiled.

“Yes, we’ll come again. Now go and obey your mom, alright?”

“Yes, oppa! Goodbye!”

They watched as the girl left, and then Irene looked at Junmyeon.

“What?” he asked, feigning innocence. “I didn’t say anything.”

She had to smile at that, shaking her head.

After they collected the things she had brought, Junmyeon suggested they could take a walk. Jongin was playing with some kids, teleporting to different places and making them laugh.

“He’s the one that likes to come here the most.” Junmyeon told her. “Jongin has a very pure heart.”

Irene couldn’t deny that. 

“He has.” she said, and looked at Junmyeon. “It’s… It’s very nice, what you guys are doing for these people here.”

He nodded.

“I wish we could get everyone off the border, but we don’t have enough space here. Some people also don’t want to come.”

Irene knew why. Even though Red Force didn’t help them completely, they would give money to some families, so that they would send their children to study and in the future, work on the Exo’rdium.

They continued to walk, and Irene saw an old couple sitting together on a bench. Suddenly, Junmyeon took her hand, and she looked at him.

“Some of the people who don’t want to work at the Elyxion live here.” he told her. “They have a peaceful life, start a family. I always wondered what that would be like, too.”

In the Exo’rdium, it was a clear fact that X-EXO was created for a purpose, and their life would always be closed to that. But it never came into her mind how that was true to EXO, too. Junmyeon would probably never live a peaceful life as long as that war continued. The thought made her heart ache.

She intertwined her fingers with his, and Junmyeon looked at her.

“It’s a nice thought.” she said, and when he smiled at her, Irene couldn’t help but do the same.

—————————

“Your leg is completely healed.”

Irene looked at the blonde woman in front of her. Taeyeon had come to her room after dinner, to do a checkup. They hadn’t seen each other all day, busy with their own things.

“Yes, thank you. You helped me a lot.”

Taeyeon shook her head.

“You were a very good patient, actually. You followed all my recommendations, did the exercises… The credit is yours.” She left the clipboard aside. “I don’t think I’ll need to make these daily visits anymore.”

“I won’t take your time.”

The doctor smiled.

“Listen, your help on the medical floor these days was very useful. If you want, you can still come.”

Irene nodded, thinking that it would be nice, too.

“I will.”

“Alright. Ah.” Taeyeon said, seeming to think of something. “I heard you went to the village with Junmyeon and Jongin, today.”

Words did travel fast, in this place.

“Yeah, I went to help them.”

Taeyeon hesitated, like she wanted to say something else.

“It seems that Junmyeon really likes… Your help, over here.” She finally said. “He’s everybody’s strength in this place. It’s good to see him too, relying on someone.”

Irene was a little taken aback. Taeyeon didn’t seem like the type to gossip - but really, that wasn’t gossip. She was just being honest.

So Irene smiled a little, looking at her.

“He’s a nice man.”

Taeyeon seemed satisfied to hear that.

“Well, I’ll let you rest. See you tomorrow?”

She nodded, watching the doctor leave the room.

As Taeyeon left, Irene wondered if the doctor was intuitive, or if she and Junmyeon were being obvious. It didn’t seem like it, but truth be told, they weren’t really trying that hard.

Jongin had seen the two of them holding hands in the village, but they let go quickly, and the boy didn’t comment on that. At dinner, Junmyeon kept talking to her, not caring about the looks from the others, and that made Irene not care about it either.

She realized she liked it when he paid attention to her - when he smiled at something she said and the dimples in his face appeared; or when his arm touched hers while they talked.

When they said goodbye in the cafeteria, Irene almost didn’t want to leave, and now her mind was going back to that kiss from the night before. It was almost insane how much she wanted to feel it again.

The thoughts didn’t let her sleep.

Everytime Irene closed her eyes, she could see Junmyeon’s eyes, hidden behind his bangs; Junmyeon’s lips, red from their kissing. She could feel the fire of his touch and the taste of his mouth.

Irene sat on the bed, feeling restless. She wanted to see him, but it was well into the night. Would he be awake? She remembered a conversation she had with Jongin, who told her their rooms were not far from there, just three halls away.

It wouldn’t do any bad, right? She was going there just to talk.

Irene debated about that for another half hour, before deciding that she couldn’t stay there doing nothing anymore - and left the room towards the EXO hall.

It wasn’t hard to find it, which was good. If she met someone on the way, Irene definitely wouldn’t be able to explain what she was going to do.

The hall had six doors, and for a moment she was alarmed, thinking that she wouldn’t know which room was his. But then Irene paid attention, and there was each boy’s name on the doors.

She stopped in front of Junmyeon’s door, hesitating. But she had come all this way, it would be stupid to give up now. She just wanted to see him for a while. And he’d already gone to her room so many times… It wouldn’t hurt.

Taking a breath, she knocked on the door.

No one answered, and Irene was already thinking that maybe he wasn’t there, when Junmyeon opened the door.

“Irene?” he said, surprised.

She opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. Junmyeon was wearing nothing but sweatpants, wet hair dripping over his chest.

“Hi.” she managed to say, feeling stupid. “I know it's late, this is really inconvenient, right? I came here because… I just…”

“It’s alright.” Junmyeon told her. “Do you want to come in?”

“Ah… I…” Irene stopped, getting a grip of herself. “Alright.”

Junmyeon moved from the door, and she entered the room.

The place was very simple, but entirely like him. There were several pictures scattered around, most of them with the EXO members. In addition to the bed, he had a desk, a piano in the corner of the room and a bookcase filled with books.

“You’re probably thinking that I’m an old man, aren’t you?” he said, wearing a simple shirt.

Irene came closer to the bookcase, looking at the books.

“No. I… I like to read, too. But I think my collection isn’t that diverse.”

“My parents had a bookstore.” he explained. “These are some of the books that I managed to save.”

She took one from the bookcase, looking at the cover.

“You can take some more if you want. I was going to bring it for you, anyway.”

Irene looked at him.

“I will. But I won’t stay with them forever, just lend them to me.”

Junmyeon nodded, getting close to her.

“May I?” He asked, referring to the book she was holding. Irene handed it over, and he flipped through the pages, seeming to look for something.

He finally stopped when he found a dry lavender flower among the pages.

“I’ve put it here a long time ago.” he said. “I didn’t remember that until I saw you with the book.”

Irene looked at the flower. Maybe she was imagining things, but it still had a faint smell. And how ironic it was, that flower being there. The poem from the book came to her mind.

“ _Bring me warm rain, and lavender, and you._ ” Irene recited. “ _I want you, most of all._ ”

She looked at the side, to Junmyeon – and he was already looking at her.

Irene didn’t know what had brought them together. Maybe it was fate, if she believed that. But at that moment, it felt like the right thing, to be here with him.

She reached out, touching his face, and Junmyeon closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. He was so perfect. Irene moved her fingertips across his eyelids, his nose, to his lips. She traced his lower lip, and Junmyeon dropped the book on the floor, holding her wrist.

He had his eyes open now, fixed on Irene. Junmyeon kissed her fingertips, the palm of her hand, the inside of her wrist. His mouth was hot, and every time he breathed on her skin, Irene shivered.

Junmyeon brought her a little closer, to put his other arm around her waist, and then he leaned down to finally - _finally_ \- kiss her.

Irene wondered if she would ever get used to it, to his kiss. It makes her mind go blank, and she can’t think of anything but the way his mouth moves against hers. Junmyeon licks her mouth, tasting her, angling his head to deepen the kiss - and Irene has to hold his shirt to stop trembling so much.

“Are you ok?” Junmyeon murmurs against her lips.

Her breath is heavy, and she doesn’t really know the answer to that question. Irene isn’t used to this, she isn’t used to all those feelings. It scares her, but she doesn’t want it to stop. So she nods, kissing him again.

They move in the room, until Junmyeon’s back hits his desk. He’s half sitting on it, and they stop to look at each other for a moment. Irene reaches her hand to his still damp hair, and brushes it out of his eyes. He never stops looking at her, his hands touching her waist.

Irene gets closer, pulls his hair lightly, and Junmyeon pliantly follows the movement, exposing his neck – so she leans forward, pressing her lips to his jaw.

Junmyeon’s skin is still damp, too. He’s warm, and yes, he smells like damn _lavender_ , tastes so sweet, and when he moans, Irene thinks she’s going to lose her mind.

Without thinking about it, she grinds against his thigh, which is in the middle of her legs. Even though there are several layers of fabric between them, it feels good – so she does it again, because she needs it. Junmyeon seems to notice, and presses his leg up, which increases the pressure.

Irene moans, unable to pay attention to what she was doing before. She’s burying her nails on his shoulders, hiding her face on the crook of his neck because again, all of this is too much, and at the same time, not enough.

“It’s ok” Junmyeon tells her, encouraging her to keep going; his hands on her hips, but not interfering in the way she rides his thigh.

Irene is panting, moving almost desperately. She wants it _so much, she wants it-_

Junmyeon kisses her, swallowing all the pathetic sounds she’s making, thigh going up again, intensifying the pressure – _and yes_ , now it’s too much, she feels lightheaded, warm all over.

“ _Please_ ” she begs, not even sure to what, moving faster.

“ _Come_ ” Junmyeon says, pulls her lower lip between his teeth, and Irene comes - the whole room going white, for a second.

She doesn’t know for how long she stays still, Junmyeon holding her the only thing stopping her from falling. Her breath is slowly getting steady, but her body is still trembling a little.

Irene raises her head, facing Junmyeon. His pupils are blown and his lips are pink and swollen, voice hoarse with arousal.

“Irene…”

She lets him kiss her again. Lets him move again until the back of her knees hit the bed and she falls on it, landing on her back as Junmyeon climbs on top, their lips still connected. Irene is getting warm again, and there’s too many clothes between them - she wants them all off.

Junmyeon seems to read her thoughts and takes off his shirt, so she does the same. It wasn’t like she was wearing nice underwear, the white bra too simple, but she had no option but to use what they were giving her there. It wasn't like any of that mattered in that moment, anyway.

When she threw her shirt on the floor, Junmyeon was already shirtless, and Irene could really look at him, now. Again, he was perfect. She touches his chest, lets her hands go down until they’re on the waistband of his sweatpants, and looks at him.

Junmyeon drops his hands away, lets her take over. When she touches him, he closes his eyes. As Irene works on him, he tries to go back to kiss her – but can’t, too far gone. Junmyeon presses his forehead to her shoulder, and grabs her hips.

“I don’t-” He tries to say, but jerks his hips, thrusting up. He holds her hands, stopping her for a moment. “I wasn’t expecting… I don’t have-”

“It’s ok.” Irene tells him, a little breathless. “They give us shots, at the Exo’rdium. I’m good for this month.” her face flushes only slightly, and Junmyeon understands.

He slowly goes back to kiss her, and Irene lets her hands rest on Junmyeon’s shoulder blades as he kisses his way across her chest, over her bra. She arches her back, and he unclasps it in one try. His mouth on her makes Irene roll her head back, too aroused all over again.

She moves, attempting to take off her own pants and underwear, and when Junmyeon notices it, he helps her, doing the same not long after. When he goes back to her, it’s all skin on skin, and they look at each other, feeling the depth of the moment.

Irene didn’t know she was looking for that until now. Until she found him.

She couldn’t explain the feeling of having him inside her, of sharing that moment with him. Junmyeon was moving, murmuring something to her, but she couldn’t hear him, she couldn’t do anything but feel.

She wrapped her legs around his hips, kissed his mouth, his neck, intertwined her fingers on his hair, all in half-lust, half-gratitude. Junmyeon was breathing heavy by her ear, and Irene loved listening to his voice more than anything.

The pressure inside of her started to build, and every touch of his hands on her body were taking her closer to the stars, again.

_Irene was entirely his, now._

She came first, moaning his name – and that was enough to make Junmyeon get his release, too.

He stays on top of her for a moment, but Irene enjoys the weight of his body, feeling his heartbeat and his breath steadying slowly. Junmyeon presses a sweet kiss to her neck, before he pulls himself back.

Irene lies on her side, looking at him. Junmyeon gives her a tired smile, and reaches out to brush the hair out of her face.

He doesn’t say anything, and really, he doesn’t have to. The way Junmyeon looks at her says everything his voice doesn’t say.

Her heart warms at that. She approaches him, kissing him lightly, and Junmyeon passes a hand around her waist, keeping her close.

Irene never thought she would feel that way. But in such an unexpected place, with someone so unexpected, there she was. Completely enticed by him, and she knew there was no going back.

Junmyeon had closed his eyes, and she watched him for some time before deciding to speak.

“I wanted to tell you something.” Irene said, and he opened his eyes slowly.

“Hm?”

Irene hesitated a little, but not because of him. Because of her, and everything she was keeping inside. She was digging very deeply, now.

“I… My name’s not Irene.”

Junmyeon frowned.

“Not my real name, at least.” She paused. “Before I went to the Exo’rdium and they gave me this name, I was Joohyun.”

His expression softens, and Junmyeon smiles lightly.

“Joohyun?”

“Bae Joohyun.”

“It is a beautiful name.” he strokes her cheek. “Do you want me to call you like this?”

Irene shook her head without hesitation.

“No.” she says, sincerely. “I’m not her anymore. For a long time now.”

Bae Joohyun was an innocent little girl, who had many dreams and felt a lot of love. She had died in that explosion, too. But even if Irene no longer wanted to remember her, the girl’s memory still lived in the woman’s body.

“Despite that, I wanted to tell you this.”

Junmyeon nodded, pulling her a little closer, and Irene leaned her head against his chest.

“Thank you for telling me.”

She feels at peace with that. Telling it to Junmyeon felt right, because she wanted to be honest with him. She wanted him to know everything.

And for now, that was enough.

Feeling the heat of his body and the calm beat of his heart, Irene fell asleep.

———————

They didn’t really mean to tell anyone about their relationship, for some time. It was still something new, and they wanted to get closer slowly. But that turned out to be impossible, when Baekhyun saw Irene leaving Junmyeon’s room that morning.

Word got out, and when they came to eat breakfast in the cafeteria, all the boys in the EXO table threw some knowing glances at them. No one said anything direct, of course, but Jongin seemed very happy, and Baekhyun kept saying suggestive things, which even made Chanyeol pinch his waist.

Irene didn’t really care about it, but Junmyeon seemed a little embarrassed, and she noticed she actually liked seeing his flushed cheeks every time he looked away.

After eating, she went to help Taeyeon in the lab, as promised. The doctor was making some medicine that was needed, and Irene helped her with the formulas.

“Did you develop them?” she asked, and Taeyeon nodded.

“I don’t have much study in chemistry, but I think it’s general knowledge what some plants can do. I asked the chemists for some help here, and managed to make the formulas.”

“They seem very well done. I would like to see how they work.”

Taeyeon shook her head.

“I’m sure you know a lot more than I do. Here we can’t get even close to that burn serum you made.”

Irene looked at the bottle in her hands. Sometimes, she forgot that the Elyxion didn’t have the same technologies available to them on the Exo’rdium.

“I can give you the recipe, if you want. I also know some others, but I’m not sure of all the formulas, we may need to do some tests.”

Taeyeon looked at her.

“That would be nice.” she says, but then pauses for a second. “Do you really want to do this? I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to get that kind of information.”

That still seemed strange, to Irene, the fact they hadn’t forced her to say everything she knew. If the situation were the opposite, she was sure that the Red Force wouldn’t be so friendly.

But in this place, things were different.

She nodded, closing the bottle she was holding.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

When they left the lab together later, they passed the training center, where Jongdae and Junmyeon were training. Irene only saw them fighting behind Chën’s cameras, never up close. It was actually amazing, seeing them in action like this. 

The two men didn’t appear to be fighting each other, but trying to combine their powers. The water intensified the lightning’s power, making a more powerful attack. She was distant, but her skin still prickled.

Irene was used to seeing fights, to seeing those powers in action, always following the development of the X-EXO members. But these men were the originals. The way they controlled their powers seemed a lot more natural, a lot less angry. And not long ago, she was doing her best to kill them.

That thought seemed so strange in her mind now, that it didn’t make sense. But it was true, wasn’t it? Irene had studied, trained for that. Everything she developed, every minute of her day was dedicated to making X-EXO better, so they could win and destroy their originals. It was the purpose she had in life. And now what did she have?

Irene’s heart was already Junmyeon’s, she was completely given to him - the thought of him being hurt almost unbearable. But she cared about the others, too. Jongin’s boyish smile, Jongdae’s kindness, Sehun’s determination, the love between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. She wanted to keep seeing all of that.

But how? She was in the middle of that war now, which in reality, had no middle. Irene would have to choose, and she knew it.

———————

“What are you thinking about?”

Irene looked at Junmyeon. They were lying in his bed that night, arms around each other.

She had a lot of things in her mind, but it wasn’t worth telling him now.

“Not much.” she tells him.

“You spent all day in the lab with Taeyeon. Aren’t you tired?”

“A little.” Irene pauses. “I saw you training with Jongdae, today.”

Junmyeon seems surprised.

“Really? Why didn’t you talk to us?”

“I didn’t want to disturb. You seemed quite focused.”

“We were training some new things.” Junmyeon explains to her. “Sometimes it’s better to combine our powers than to work alone.”

“ _We are one_ , right?” she recites their motto, and he smiles.

“Right.” Junmyeon kisses her forehead, before moving away to sit on the bed.

Irene watches him pick up his sweatpants on the floor and put them on, before heading to the bathroom. She also sits on the bed, picking up his shirt on the floor to put on, because the room is a little cold. It’s big for her and it smells like him - Irene loves it.

While she ties her hair in a bun on top of her head, she looks at the piano in the corner of the room. It’s closed, and it seems a little old. Junmyeon comes out of the bathroom, and follows her gaze.

“Do you play?” Irene asks him.

He makes a face.

“Not much.”

She raises an eyebrow at him.

“So why do you have a piano in your room?”

Junmyeon gets closer to the bed.

“I learned it when I was little, my mother used to play. These are the only things I have from our old house, this piano and the books.”

Irene kneels on the bed, holding his hands.

“Will you play for me?”

Junmyeon hesitates, but in the end nods, going to the other side of the room. Irene gets up and leans against the desk to watch him up close.

He opens the piano, wiping off some of the dust on the keys. He doesn’t start playing immediately, and Irene wonders if Junmyeon also has painful memories, like hers.

Of course he has. Probably more.

Junmyeon starts slowly, with one hand - the sound calm, peaceful. It gets faster eventually, but not enough to break the flow of the song.

It’s beautiful, and sad. Irene feels it deep in her heart.

When Junmyeon finishes, his fingers are shaking a little bit, Irene can see. She approaches him, hugging him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder. Junmyeon touches her arm.

“It was beautiful.” she tells him, and he turns his face to look at her.

Irene sits on the piano bench next to him, watching as Junmyeon holds her hands.

“Can you promise me something, Irene?”

She feels tightness in her chest, but doesn’t deny it.

“No matter what happens, remember this. Remember that what I feel for you is real. And it will always be.”

Irene doesn’t say anything, her breath caught in her throat - she doesn’t want to cry, right now. So she nods, leaning down to kiss him.

“I promise.” She says against his lips, feeling the tightness in her chest increase. “I promise.”

———————

The next morning, all hell broke out.

They were eating breakfast together, laughing at how Chanyeol was insisting on saying that Jongdae had cheated in their chess game. Jongin, Sehun and Baekhyun were spurring all the teasing, while Junmyeon smiled, trying to appease the situation, one arm resting on Irene’s shoulder - and she had never been happy like that.

Until a siren sounded in the cafeteria, and everyone’s expression changed.

_“X-EXO TRESPASSED THE BORDER. THEY ARE GETTING CLOSE TO THE ELYXION.”_

“Jongdae, go get the car.” Junmyeon instructed immediately. “Baekhyun, you go ahead with Jongin, stop what you can. Take Chanyeol with you.”

Everyone moved to do as they were told, and Irene held Junmyeon’s arm, a concerned expression on her face.

“Junmyeon.”

He held her face and smiled, reassuring.

“It’s all right. We’ll be fine.” He kissed her quickly, before walking away. “Come on, Sehun.”

Irene watched helplessly as the two men left the scene.

Again, she was left alone, waiting.

Again, Irene felt useless, unable to do anything.

_But couldn’t she?_

Would she stay the rest of her life hidden in the Elyxion, pretending that there were no things she needed to deal with?

No, she wouldn’t do that. She _couldn’t_ do that.

Irene ran up to the medical floor, searching for Taeyeon. She found the doctor talking to one of the nurses in the hall, and interrupted them without apologizing.

“I need to talk to you, Taeyeon.”

It probably sounded urgent, because Taeyeon dismissed the nurse and looked at her.

“What is it?”

“The boys went out. They went out for a fight with X-EXO.”

“Yes, I heard the siren…”

“I have to go there.”

Taeyeon frowned.

“What?”

“I have to go there, Taeyeon. And you need to help me, because I don’t have a pass card for the garage.”

The doctor shook her head.

“Are you insane? You can’t go to a battlefield…”

“Listen to me, Taeyeon. I have to go there. I can’t stay here hiding anymore, I have to go talk to him-”

“With who? X-EXO?” When she didn’t answer, Taeyeon looked incredulous. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s not impossible for me. I have to try. For Junmyeon. _For Baekhyun_.” Taeyeon’s expression turned serious, and Irene continued. “For all of them. Please, you have to help me.”

Taeyeon was still serious, and didn’t seem sure of that, but she closed her eyes and sighed.

“Wait for me by the elevator in the end of the hall.”

Irene nodded, leaving.

She knew they didn’t have time, and with each passing moment, Irene became more restless.

Taeyeon didn’t take long to appear, without her lab coat and wearing a simple shirt and pants, like the ones Irene wore. She pressed the elevator button and the two entered, the doctor placing the pass card on the elevator reader.

“I’ll drive.” she told Irene. “If you’re driving they won’t let you leave the compound.”

Irene was a little surprised that Taeyeon wanted to go. But she didn’t say anything, just anxious for them to leave.

Taeyeon took the key to one of the trucks, and the two got in, driving to the exit. The guards at the exit stopped the car, but when they saw Taeyeon driving, they let her pass.

And then she sped up.

If X-EXO had already crossed the border, Irene knew they wouldn’t be far from there - but even so, the ten minutes they drove seemed much longer. From afar, there were already signs of the battle.

When they were able to see the men fighting, Taeyeon stopped the car, and Irene opened the door to get out.

“Wait!” the woman held her arm. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going there.”

“And what, just get in the middle of the fight? This is crazy, Irene!”

Irene looked at her.

“I’ve been there, believe me. Stay here, keep an eye on anyone in need of assistance.” and without waiting for a response from the doctor, she ran.

There was already a lot of smoke in the place, and Irene walked between the wreckage of the buildings, careful to not be noticed. Explosions were taking place near her, and a thunder cleared the sky.

Hidden, Irene watched the fight scene. Not far from her, Chanyeol was fighting Baëkhyun, but her eyes immediately found Junmyeon, who was having a one-on-one dispute with Suhø. Approaching behind them, Sehůn was coming, and was ready to attack, she could see.

He was going to get Junmyeon while he was distracted by Suhø.

Irene couldn’t let that happen.

She ran, entering the battlefield.

“Sehůn!”

There was a lot of noise in the place, but he could hear her - she knew. The man turned, looking at her.

He looked genuinely shocked.

“Irene…”

“Stop it, Sehůn. Stop this fight.”

The man came over, holding her arms.

“You’re alive.”

She took a breath.

“Yes.”

Sehůn frowned in disbelief.

“How? We thought you were dead, but we never found your body…”

“Irene!” Junmyeon shouted from where he was.

The two looked to the side, at Junmyeon’s worried face, and Sehůn’s expression started to change with recognition.

“Were you with them?”

“Sehůn, listen to me…”

“Were you with them?” Sehůn shouted, shaking her, but suddenly he was no longer there, being thrown away.

Junmyeon was in front of her, holding her face.

“Are you okay?”

Irene nodded, out of breath - but then Sehůn was already coming towards them, pushing Junmyeon. She screamed, falling to the floor.

Everything was happening too fast. Something had cut her hand, but Irene didn't have time to worry about that.

“Well, well, well.” she heard a voice, and saw Suhø beside her. “Who would know? And I thought your type was Sehůn.” He gave a half smile, his blue eyes glinting. Suhø held her chin, turning Irene’s face to speak in her ear. “You didn’t have to go that far, Irene. You just needed to ask me.”

She shuddered, trying to get away from him, but Suhø held her face tighter.

“Things will be very interesting when we get back.”

A fireball came towards them, and Suhø had to move away to defend himself with water. Irene took the opportunity to run, but hit someone in the chest, who held her.

“Noona.” Jongin said, and she felt relief. He had a cut on his neck that was bleeding. “What are you doing here?”

Irene looked at the direction of the battlefield, where Sehůn and Junmyeon were still fighting.

“I need to go there.”

Jongin held her arm.

“You can’t. Junmyeon hyung asked me to take you back.”

Irene looked at him.

“Jongin, please. Sehůn…” She stopped, seeing a drone fly over them. “Jongin, get out of here now.”

“What?”

“ _Jongin-_ ”

It was too fast, the way he was thrown away. Suddenly, Kāi was on top of the boy, but Jongin was managing to defend himself, their fight invisible to the human eye.

Irene ran again, to where Sehůn and Junmyeon were.

“Sehůn!”

“Get out of here!” Junmyeon shouted at her, but Irene continued.

“You won’t win this! Nobody will win this!”

Junmyeon ran towards her, holding her by the waist so she wouldn’t get any closer. Sehůn stayed where he was.

“You changed your beliefs that fast, after being with them?”

“I didn’t go there because I wanted to.” she said. “You left me to die…”

“ _We didn’t!_ We didn’t know you were alive!”

“Baëkhyun knew it! He told me he would come back, but he never came.”

Sehůn frowned.

“Chën’s cameras captured the thunder and the explosion in that building. There was no way anyone would survive that.”

“But I did. I survived, and they saved me.” He didn’t say anything, so Irene continued. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Sehůn. You don’t have to fight each other…”

“And then what? Let’s live _happily ever after_?” His expression was dark. “I can’t. _I won’t._ We’re going to destroy every single one of them, and anyone that gets in the way.”

“Sehůn…”

But he was no longer listening to her, starting a hurricane with his wind. Baekhyun, who was closer, tried to stop him, but a piece of steel coming from the hurricane hit his head, and the silver-haired boy fell on the floor unconscious.

“We have to go, now!” Junmyeon shouted loud enough for everyone to hear, pulling Irene as he ran. She tried to look back.

“But Baekhyun…”

“Jongin already got him.” Junmyeon said, and she hadn’t seen when, but it was true.

As they ran back to the car, Sehůn’s hurricane got bigger, and Irene realized at that moment, that there was nothing she could do to change that situation.

————————

The halls were silent.

It was a stark difference to all the noise they heard earlier, and Irene’s ears still hadn’t got used to that.

She stopped in front of the window of the room that Baekhyun was in, on the medical floor. He was lying on the bed, still unconscious, and Chanyeol hadn’t left his side since they arrived. Taeyeon was there too, keeping her distance, but her eyes never left the boy in the bed.

Irene closed her eyes for a second.

Maybe, if she hadn’t gone, none of this would’ve happened. She thought she could’ve done something to help, but in the end, that situation was way beyond her hands.

After they left, X-EXO also withdrew, with many members injured to continue moving forward. But Sehůn’s hurricane had left a trail of destruction in its path.

Irene left the hall, going to the roof. It was already dark, and all the lights she could see came from the compound. In the surroundings, everything was complete darkness.

_“And then what? Let’s live happily ever after? I can’t. I won’t. We’re going to destroy every single one of them, and anyone that gets in the way.”_

Sehůn’s words continued to echo in her mind throughout the day.

Somehow, he was right. They couldn’t stop it now, they had gone too far. It was foolish of Irene to think otherwise.

The hate placed on those boys was too deep.

She heard a sound coming from the stairs, and seconds later, Junmyeon appeared. He didn’t have any serious injuries, just a few scratches, but still, he looked extremely tired. He sat down next to her but said nothing, watching the dark sky.

Irene looked at him for a moment.

“I’m sorry.”

He turned to her.

“I thought I could’ve changed that.” She continued. “I guess I can’t.”

Junmyeon reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers.

“You being there scared me so much, Irene. For a moment I thought I was going to lose you.”

She sighed, and her breath was a little shaky.

“I didn’t want to keep hiding here, behind you. Now, they know where I am, they know who I’m fighting with.”

Junmyeon looked at their hands.

“I guess there’s no going back now.”

Irene shook her head, slowly.

“No.” she pauses. “But there was no going back since the moment I fell in love with you.”

He looked at her, and Irene continued.

“I can’t hate them. I was trained to do everything against you, but now I can’t either. I care too much about each one of you. But I can’t just turn those feelings over to them. I can’t.”

Junmyeon frowned.

“I’m not asking you to hate them...”

“I know.” she smiles sadly. “I know you’re not. Despite that, I know that I need to make a decision.”

Junmyeon’s expression is concerned, and Irene knows that he’s worried about her. _For her._ This realization hits her even harder, makes Irene even surer of the decision she makes.

“I choose you, Junmyeon." she says. "Above all, I choose you.”

She’s crying now, tears rolling down her cheek before she knows it. Junmyeon holds her face, wipes her tears with his thumb. He leans forward, resting his forehead against hers.

“We will be together, no matter what happens.” he tells her, and Irene nods. “I choose you, Irene. I choose you.”

They kiss, feeling the salty taste of her tears, and Irene knows that their path will be difficult, it will be painful - but they’ll be fine.

As long as they’re together, they’ll be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can also find me [here](https://junmyeoneyesmile.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
